


Party of Three

by SerArthurHeath



Series: Sword  Art Online Party Of Three Reality [2]
Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Character Development, F/F, F/M, First Time, Fluff, Heterosexual Sex, Lesbian Sex, Multi, Oral Sex, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Smut, Teenagers, Threesome - F/F/M, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2020-02-09 20:17:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 84,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18645355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerArthurHeath/pseuds/SerArthurHeath
Summary: Haunted by guilt and bullied by her unempathetic peers, Asada Shino, survivor of armed assault and accidental killer in self-defence copes with her social isolation online as famed and skilled GGO veteran Sinon. However, her mask comes with the price of little in the way of friendship and her fame (and gender, and looks) come with harassment that combined leave her feeling deserted by girls and contemptuous of boys and men. This leaves her with little time to worry about sex or romance with one gender that seems to hate her and one she seems to hate, an almost welcome distraction from the fact that she struggles to get to grips with her attraction to bothUntil she meets the new girl to her online domain, Kirito, who starts to first reopen her reflection on her sexuality, then as she gets to know them more, shatters that reflection with an endless stream of questions, and reignites an internal debate about what friendship is and what she needs from it.Just when she thinks she has found her level of comfort in love and friendship, things get at least twice as complicated when Kirito introduces her to their "old friend from SAO", the beautiful Asuna...





	1. Blue Eyed Mask

**Author's Note:**

> I love the undercurrent, the unspoken attraction, we see in the anime especially between Sinon and Kirito, and the way that they will never act on that because he loves and she respects Asuna too much, and I love the Kirito-Asuna relationship.
> 
> I was also, despite no experience in that area, thinking of writing a poly- fanfic, and felt that because of the way they respect and love each other, these three would make an interesting and beautiful three-way pairing, as a relationship.
> 
> That was the trigger point, and that relationship is where we will eventually end up, but it led me into thinking about, knowing how confusing things must have been for Sinon and how complex her feelings must have been at points, how Phantom Bullet would feel from her perspective, the hints that Sinon might have lesbian feelings, and getting into setting the scene for these characters coming to all love each other.
> 
> I hope it works, and apologies that it will take a few chapters, and almost certainly at least a couple of weeks, to get to the 3 way relationship at the crux of this fanfic
> 
> EDIT: 
> 
> I promise I will eventually get to the explicit stuff. Just felt that it wasn't right to breeze through the story too fast without exploring Sinon's feelings  
> I reckon we will finish BoB in Chapter 7, see Shino meet Kirito IRL and then meet Asuna in Chapter 8 (maybe 9 if I shorten the chapters), then get to know them a bit in 9 + 10, and sex will begin at the end of 10 or in 11.

_This time I'll be strong enough. I will win. Then I will be strong outside as well. I will finally be able to forget_

 

This was the thought that drove Sinon on, and the thing that gave Asada Shino hope, hope that one day (and soon) things would finally be different. Though she figured they shared a brain, and knew they weren't truly different people, Sinon couldn't help but think of them as different personalities. She needed Shino to exist, but Shino needed Sinon to find a reason to survive: as long as Shino had hope and a place where she could wear the strong, fearless Sinon mask, life remained marginally less scary than death, and there was reason to keep on going. But after 5 years, her ability to tolerate this and believe better could come was beginning to wear. And she knew, a bit of her at least, that by pinning her hopes on this tournament she was risking a lot. She had to risk a lot: it felt like there was little to lose at this point, and any change had to be a big one.

 

_I don't believe in gods anymore, not since watching my life, such as it was, collapse. Mother, broken. Friends, all bar one, gone. Hands, bloodied. But if you do exist, damn you, please give me something. Something to help me be strong enough._

 

That was the first prayer, albeit a silent one, she had made in nearly 5 years. It actually stung to ask for someone, even a divine power that did not exist, for help. Shino had nobody to help her, her state of being alone had been forced by a cruel world and her own sin, so Sinon had made it her choice in a way her real world face had never had the chance to. She chose to be alone, because nobody could or would help. Even Shinkawa was hands off, her friend but not one she let herself rely on. Her poor mother had been through too much, could barely look after herself even with Shino there, never mind the other way around. The girls she abided at school hurt her, those who no longer cut her with words any more having already done their damage and still cutting her out with silence. Some girls like Endou (how Sinon wished Endou could face her rather than Shino herself, but that seemed impossible) had never stopped. Boys shunned her in the world, and men in the game did the opposite and salivated over her because she was a girl. One sex hated her, and she had grown to hate the other. The only person you could trust in a world like this one is yourself, which made Bullet of Bullets perfect. It would just be her and Hecate, her truest companion, with no false friends, no hidden agendas, and she would prove to everyone and to herself that she. Could. Not. Be. Broken.

 

It had been a while since she had been so introspective: the closeness of the event (just later today!) was bringing up a lot of nerves and she needed to focus on what was important, on why she had chosen this path. Lost in her own thoughts as she calmed her nerves walking around the streets of the central city, she was barely conscious of her surroundings. That was a pleasant rest before she'd need her senses around constantly once the tournament began. She'd better not take too long though - she hadn't formally entered yet and the deadline was later today.

 

"Um, excuse me... I'm lost"

 

Oh, she wasn't alone. The voice had come from close behind her. She couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman, but this being GGO, statistically it was going to be a man. Great. Another ogre coming to hit on her. Or maybe by the timbre of the voice it was some thirteen year old boy who'd take one look at her avatar's curves and get an erection.

She turned around, ready to tell them to leave her in peace, that she wasn't interested in their one-liners or lewd offers. For about the thousandth time...

And saw what appeared to be a girl, of roughly her own age and height. 

Sinon was struck by two things at once. Firstly, this girl was clearly new here and nervous too. In fact, she reminded Sinon of herself when she had first arrived, with nobody female to show her the ropes. The poor thing had probably been harassed at least a dozen times before she had found someone of her own sex who might actually help her, she mused with a pinch of shame that she had been so quick to consider sending a lost newcomer away.

Secondly, and definitely increasing the chance that the girl had been pestered by the creeps that frequented this world, she was very, very pretty. Sinon knew that, both here with her striking blue hair and eyes, and in reality though she was too much of a pariah and too shy and frankly too scared now of the men she knew were perverts and the girls she knew despised her to act on it, good-looking herself, in face and figure. This girl didn't have her curves, but a slender grace and a pretty - no, she was honest with herself- a beautiful face.

Sinon had always assumed it was normal to note attractive features in both men and women, and had been shocked (and humiliated when it added another spike to her peers many pronged approach to bullying her) to find that not everyone felt that way. However, whilst noting good looks in men and women, aside from actors on the movie screen (she preferred American pretty boys and elegant women) she had never really felt what she would call raw attraction, an urge to act on the observation of beauty, anywhere. By the time hormones had kicked in, she had felt so alone that connecting to somebody sexually like that was an alien concept. Until, maybe, now she realised as she encountered an utterly new sensation in her chest.

The newcomer had long hair as black as night, pale skin with delicate features, high cheek bones like a model, a relatively deep voice for a girl. Her face was etched with tension that seemed cute and that she longed to ease out. But her most distinctive features were her eyes. With long, lush eyelashes that framed them beautifully despite what seemed to be no make-up at all, they were big, wide with innocence, and the dark grey of a stormy sky, with twinkles of almost purple starlight. The kind of grey eyes that probably changed from the light reflection off a winter sea to the charcoal of night, the kind that a soul could get lost in.

 

She had to remember that this was just an avatar- the girl could have looked like anything in real life. But in her experience most girls, like herself, felt more comfortable playing in an avatar based on their real looks (in fact, that was what the start point was on the customisation when you started the game, and deviating too much was a massive pain) with a few fantastical tweaks. So this beauty probably did look something like this, and that was to say, like a shot straight to Sinon's heart.


	2. Lessons and Revelations

_Damn it, Sinon, get focussed here!_

 

Connection or not, there were a myriad of reasons that she shouldn't get invested in this girl. For one, she was statistically unlikely to be interested back, and that chance would become zero if she discovered Shino was a murderer, no matter the circumstances. Shino was almost certainly not ready for any kind of romantic commitment anyway - she had little experience enough with friends and she was honest enough with herself to know her emotions were fragile and she wasn't ready to care for herself never mind another. She couldn't afford to be mooning about a pretty face when such an important event as BoB was so near. Most importantly, to her at least, if she gawked over this young lady and started to leer and hit on her, it would make her just as bad as all the men who did it to Sinon. The girl was here for help, alone, not to be treated like fresh meat.

 

Stifling her instinctive attraction, Sinon found out that the girl was new to the game, and looking for a weapon and the Governance area. Well, Sinon needed to head to the latter to sign up later and, notwithstanding the lovely view she might enjoy (in the back of her mind, and unobtrusively of course) on the journey, she felt she owed it to her to help show this lady the ropes - she would have loved a similar friendly face those months ago.

On their journey, Sinon found out a little about the enigmatic beauty she would mentally call Sky. She wasn't sure why she didn't ask or offer her name, but their interaction felt natural and she was a little too off-kilter with the unexpected pulsing of emotion in her chest to force things in any particular direction. Sky wanted to try out a "cyber-punk" world, and had experience playing Fantasy games. That probably meant Alfheim for most people, though Shino had never been interested in any other game than GGO: the presence of guns and the opportunity to fend for oneself were important factors in the escapism she had sought here, suggested by Kyouji. 

Sinon started to feel comfortable with Sky here. It had been too long since she had really had another girl to talk with anywhere, and she could remember the nervousness and excitement she had felt when she first came here. Sky seemed quite shy and demure, but with a background of grace and, Sinon sensed, a secret, deep well of confidence. Despite that feeling that the young lady, with her distractingly cute mannerisms, could be self-assured when she needed to, it still came as a surprise when she slipped into conversation that she intended, like Sinon, to sign up for BoB. She tried to explain why, in a game full of professionals and veterans, that might not be a great idea, but couldn't dissuade Sky. 

_I wonder if she has her own secret, her own profound need to prove herself or compete in some other way?_

 

Her stats wouldn't stand a chance against any competitive player though, as a debutant, and Sinon tried to put this across as delicately as possible without hurting Sky's feelings.

"Ah, you see, well, I've actually converted my account from another game, so I'm not starting from scratch", the raven haired damsel replied. That could be interesting. But she'd still lack the knowledge of the game itself, and it was clear from talking with her that she really didn't know a lot apart from that GGO was all about guns and BoB was a player vs player battle royale. So Sinon educated her, slowly, throughout the day, about the game mechanics, prediction lines, basic tactics etc.

 

Before they really got into depth about that, she received her own humbling education - about what was possible within her own game. Sky had, as a new player, very little money to equip herself for such a demanding start as she planned. Sinon had offered to lend her some money, and was a little relieved when she had resolutely refused. Not because she couldn't afford it, or didn't want to help, but a gift like that felt like it passed a little too far through friendly courtesy into courtship in Sinon's confused mind, and might have been crossing a barrier she didn't think was appropriate. How Sky earned her money to start her equipment, however, was literally incredible.

She'd noticed the dodging saloon slinger game, and the huge jackpot it held, and once again had ignored (the obstinance becoming frustratingly agreeable on her) Sinon's insistence that this was a device to rob suckers and a game that couldn't be beaten. In this case, at least, Sky was the one proven right. After seeing the concept in place watching a macho guy fail trying to impress his friends, she lined up herself, drawing a crowd of lechers staring at her as she stretched from relaxation into a taut spring ready to fire. Sinon scowled, as she herself tried to not be a hypocrite and tore her gaze from Sky's firm rear and lithe legs.

Once the shooting started, there was no question that whatever stats and skill Sky had taken from her old game were out of the ordinary. She rushed on with courage and speed bordering on aggression and unlike most challengers didn't not stop when the Prediction lines appeared and try to avoid the bullets as she they came, but she rushed the bullets, agilely darting to the side in mid-flight with reflexes Sinon had never seen. She never stopped moving, and even when the attacks came from so close and so quick that there couldn't possibly be enough time to watch and react to the line some kind of instinct saw her weave and leap through the shots to touch the firing robot, and collect the prize to stunned silence.

"How?! You dodged laser shots from 2 metres out, there shouldn't have even been time to see the prediction lines!"

Cue another endearing pose as Sky collected her thoughts and prepared what must be a genius lesson...

"Well, I thought the point of the game, uh, was, to read the patterns and anticipate the prediction lines..?"

Damn. Could you even do that, read the laws and trends of a gaming world so clearly? Even then, to move that fast was amazing. Novice or not, with that speed and those reflexes competing against her in BoB... this was a daunting change to the situation. And if Sinon was completely open with herself, a frankly arousing one. Skill and guts like that, it turns out, were definitely one of her turn-ons. If nothing else, she was learning a lot about herself.

 

The rest of the afternoon Sky managed to unintentionally ramp up Sinon's interest in her time after time, partly by being endearingly clueless (about the game, about Sinon's feeings, about basic common sense!), partly by being impressively competent and courageous and partly by being, well, interesting. That stubborn recklessness once again kicked in and saw her buy a photon sword as her main weapon despite costing much of her winnings, surely a unique start to building a kit. Then, despite not mastering the dynamics of calming yourself to shoot accurately with a firearm, she showed off a flurry of close-combat skills with the blade. That might be very useful - close combat, unless you were careful, often played more of a part than people expected and anyone trying to take on Sky within melee range would have to deal with a skillful blademaster who could probably dodge a bunch of bullets and would be an expert there. But no matter how amazing her evasion abilities were, how nimble her footwork and sharp her senses and reading of the game, there was just no way that she would be able to get unscathed or even alive through a whole round of automatic fire, and her gun skills would take weeks to get on a par with any serious experienced player. She might take an unsuspecting or arrogant player by surprise, but getting through preliminaries would be impossible. Surely. But she was still adamant that she would sign up, so they had better head off to the Administration centre, it was getting lat...

_Damn. It is late. Too late. 10 minutes until the deadline. How could I have been so stupid? Distracted by these new sensations, not her fault but so so stupid. I had put everything on this, and now there is no way we will realistically make it._

As Sinon explained their dilemma, breaking into a run, she stayed cool outwardly and made it very clear that this was not Sky's fault. It took her strongest mask to keep that calm demeanour however: inside she was desperate panic, she could not lose this chance, could not bear to wait another few months to break this cycle, break free of her guilty past, her weakness. But she could not physically fix this mistake. There wasn't time. They had 10 minutes to get 3km, with no ability to warp and they needed 5 minutes to actually register once they got there. Impossible, but Sinon would keep running until that time was completely gone, and then she would apologise, say goodbye to Sky, probably forever (any hope of dreaming for a relationship relied utterly on Shino being able to be strong, and she needed BoB for that), and then log out and cry at home. Probably forever.

Until Sky did something to make her even more badass and, thanks to the context, wonderful in Sinon's eyes. Still sprinting, she hauled Sinon with her onto a notoriously unmanageable, but blessedly fast, buggy, paying for it mid-leap, and miraculously drove it full throttle between NPC driven trucks, winding through the streets at an incredible pace, rekindling hope in Sinon's pounding heart, hope and with it unspeakable gratitude. She even dared to wrap her hands around Sky's slim waist as they rocketed towards their goal, still tight for time but now with a chance.

Running through the building, they made the terminals on time, and signed up in the same group, but thankfully lining up so they would meet in the group finals and both qualify. Sinon did not want be knock Sky out if she made it that far. In signing up, Sinon decided to trial a bit of flirting, something not even rusty to her, but she'd had been on the receiving end often enough to try it out, and felt she was subtle enough with a remark on how fun the bike had been. Sky's response was neutral - or else Sinon was too unfamiliar with being on the giving end of this to read her. Anyway, she had made a commitment to herself now: she would do whatever it took to win, to beat Sky if they crossed guns, but afterward she would love to exchange friend requests and become friends with the lady. If she seemed like she was interested back, romantically that is, Sinon would then jump into the abyss and ask her out on a date. She couldn't ignore the chemistry between them, and the feeling they were kindred spirits in a way, but she also knew she couldn't do any more than think like this vaguely until she had sorted herself, her fears out. And BoB was the only way to do that.

Finding their conversation natural now, she found herself answering an interesting question about the international and legally grey nature of GGO, and the way it differed from real life, before, unthinking, stumbling into letting slip about her mask, left defenceless by the sweet face and attentive ear beside her. 

_What? Did I mention my two personas? Why did I do that?! Now she will think I'm crazy_

She changed the subject quickly, and powered through into the lobby towards the changing rooms, explaining all about how the tournament preliminary matches worked as she went. She felt a little less guilty switching track on Sky like that when the information she switched to would be vital for her. She wanted Sky to join her in the finals, after all. She just couldn't see how such a unique approach as the laser sword could achieve that.

As they approached the room, she couldn't help but sneer at the men around them, all displaying their guns in bravado, unwittingly or uncaringly revealing their tactics, strengths and weaknesses with it. She would get to the final now. She had learnt so much in the last few months, and with Hecate now had the perfect weapon for her steel-nerved approach. 

Still thinking about how to approach each opponent whilst maximising her sniping talents, Sinon barely noticed that they had entered the changing room. On instinct, she pressed a button on her dashboard menu and stripped instantly to her black underwear. Carefully, aware that she wanted to keep things professional for now, she turned to see if Sky had changed yet, determined not to look at her half-dressed form until it was appropriate, only to find Sky red faced, in shock, head down, and not even a bit undressed.

_Strange. Well, if she is this shy seeing me like this, it probably means she IS interested in girls at least! Still, even if she's attracted to me, that's a weird reaction..._

But then Sky shared her player information with her, mumbling something about not being formally introduced. Sinon glanced at it, taking in the name 'Kirito'. Huh. Interesting name. Kind of cute, nice to have something real to call her by... wait a minute. Sex: Male. 

For a second Sinon's chest was empty, her mind blank and emotions cold and confused. Then, with realisation, a roaring mix of swirling feelings enveloped her. Embarrassment. Loss. Fear. Betrayal. And a lot of anger. 

 

Hurt deep blue eyes hardening to icy chips, she turned her cold stare to lock onto **his** gaze. That beautiful, feminine face, a facade to trap and pry on girls like her. Tricked. That gaze, those eyes still deep purple grey like a cloud over the moon, now filled with shame and concern. Too late. A lie.

 

Without thinking her hand lashed out and struck that lying, liar's sculpture of a face. Hard.


	3. Shrapnel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a long one - if people think I should, I may split it

Walking through the lobby, now in her combat gear, Sinon was fuming. Her instinctive anger was mingled with but not diluted by many other emotions. Disgust at this Kirito for being yet another man preying on young girls. Outrage that he picked a misleading feminine avatar to do so. Frustration that she had put herself out there to help him. Shame that she had fallen for his trick. A strange empty feeling of loss at the destruction of a hypothetical friendship. And the shrapnel of betrayal cold and sharp in the heart she had left just a touch unprotected in her yearning for acceptance. Pain and betrayal that she had lost someone imaginary that she was sure she felt a true connection, of kindred spirits, to. That she had her heart a tiny bit wounded at the first person she had possibly had romantic feelings for. That she had opened herself up to someone, just a little, for the first time in eons, even more than to Kyouji. And she hated how much she was forced to care about this, a lie by a stranger she had met only hours before without exchanging names until now. 

Still, this is what she got for trusting and leaning on another person. Lesson learnt. Time to move on.

Except the pretty boy wouldn't give her the closure of doing so. For the rest of the afternoon he clung to her like a puppy, trying to explain that it had seemed the only way to get help he needed in the new game, that he hadn't had the chance to come clean. She felt a little sick, partly at herself. She had known that there was a chance that the personality and face of the mysterious stranger she had felt these pullings towards could all be a facade, knew that much of her persona here was one, but to find that it was a frank lie, a deceit, was crushing. And fury or not, she couldn't completely cut the emotional tie she now had to this man, probably an ugly middle-aged one or a horny kid. So she diverted the attraction into something close to hate, the strength of feeling growing with that intentional self-deception. Hate and rivalry would help her get stronger and beat this guy, and everyone else. Romance could only pull her down.

Keeping a lid on her rage, she cooled it to a simmering, resentful irritation, a needle to drive her to crush Kirito like he had hurt her. Glaring, she turned to see his annoyingly beguiling face, getting a glint of satisfaction from the red damage mark her subconscious slap had left there. That satisfaction, to her own chagrin, vanished when she saw the sadness and helplessness in his moonstone eyes. Giving up on explaining himself, he still ignored her "**** you" body language and sought her out in the throng, it turned out because he still had no real clue as to how to play this tournament. The idiot. Why be so desperate as to play, even conning young women, without having any idea what to do when you got there? As they sat waiting for the matches to start, the stress on his face began to wear down her resolve. It added too much tension for her soul already under a lot, and it was getting annoying.

Hating to leave a task like his education half done, and wanting him to to well enough to face her and fall to her bullets in the final, she explained, with minimal tolerance and as much frost as she could instil in her voice and eyes as possible, the rules, mechanics and basic approach to BoB before letting some of her pent up resentment out. The gratitude in his voice and polite words that couldn't make up for impolite deeds only made her madder.

"Make sure you get to the finals: I've taught you so much, and I want to teach one last thing to you. The taste of the bullet that means defeat".

She meant that as a promise and a threat but, the luring poses and graceful elegant poise now replaced by nonchalant self-assuredness (or a facsimile of it at least), he brushed it off and asked if she would manage to make the finals. She kept her temper out of her voice, coldly in control of her emotions once more as Sinon always was (had to be) and retorted.

"If I don't, I had better retire. This time, I'll kill all the strong ones". More pleasingly, that seemed to shake up his equanimity for some reason. Encouraged by the break in his composure, she promised that she would not talk to him as an ally again, and showed him her ID screen. Her name. "Sinon... nice to meet you, as you know, I'm Kirito".

He continued to try to ingratiate himself back into her good graces, but it was too late. Maybe he was genuinely as nice as he was trying to seem, maybe this was an honest mistake, but she was too stung now. She prepared a suitably dismissive reply but then Kyouji, or rather Spiegel here, interrupted. For whatever reason, this seemed to fuel rather than defuse the tension: the two guys took an unmissable and instant dislike to each other, as soon as she revealed, with a little spite in her tone, that Kirito was a man not a girl. She almost felt that Spiegel was jealous, which made her uneasy - he was a friend, but she didn't see him as more than that, and he couldn't think she'd do anything now with this Kirito scoundrel, pretty boy or not. After some passive aggression from all 3 of them and a few snipes, she finished off by reiterating her intention to meet Kirito in the final, and kill him. Then the bastard, obviously looking to wind her up and getting frustrated by her coldness (he must be able to see how much he deserved it), and taking an opportunity to needle Spiegel, of whom he seemed a little jealous himself (though she was no expert in boys fighting over her - she had had none of that in reality and they had none of this subtlety in GGO), kept his voice deadpan and fixed an almost convincing smile with his sweet girl impression back, and fired a final remark.

"Oh, I'd never say no to a date with you!"

That kindled her strange, dualistic feelings, the impudence and deliberate innuendo of it feeding her fury but the insincere promise of a date sparking that perfidious trace of sexual desire she had tried to redirect. But before she could give into her passion, they disappeared into their respect bouts.

She took the wait time to empty her mind of the turmoil it was now in, focussed on her duel. Once it started, it was easy to lose herself in it, and not much harder to win it, taking her time to find a perfect shot, always in control, the way she needed to be. To control her matches, her destiny and her emotions. Strong, that was what strength was. The details of the fight barely mattered - the opponent wasn't her match.

Victorious, she returned with a new semblance of serenity over the irritations that had plagued her pre-match. Screw Kirito. She could control her feelings, as always. No point in letting him own a part of her in her hate any more than in her love. She let herself just feel a sense of rivalry, a need to beat him as another obstacle, and a curiosity as to whether he would manage to win his match without any gunsmanship - his reflexes and speed were unique, so maybe. Hopefully he would learn, so she could teach him the final lesson she had promised.

She found that he had indeed won his fight, and was already in the lobby whilst the remaining battles finished. But the look of composed confidence that had been there before, the serene grace of his female guise, or the deliberate projection of cockiness he had put up just now to bait her, there was no trace of any of those in his posture or face now. He looked broken, and she had to double check that he had even won. Kirito was definitely the winner on the board, so that wasn't what had humbled him. Sitting distraught, anxious face, hands in his lap and head in hands, he looked a mess. Curiosity winning over her wish to be aloof, she walked up and told him so, and berated him, her pupil, for letting a first round fight get to him like this. As she reminded him that he owed her (in so many ways now) and that he had to make the final, she turned away, ready to let the tough love do the work. If he were here this early, he obviously could compete. He had to stop moping.

She was shocked when he grabbed her hand, and prepared to strike him again, but the downcast, haunted expression on his face gave her pause, as did the need she felt implicit in his grip. Sinon felt annoyance, but under that mask she was Shino, and that one was soft-hearted. Her compassion broke through her facade, and her empathy saw in him a reflection of herself, both a broken soul hiding in a virtual world and the fragile girl she was 5 years ago, both unable to stop seeing a face paling and blood oozing from a man now long dead. That sense of connection she had stifled suddenly flared up again and she felt an instant of understanding with this boy in front of her.

"What's wrong?" She tried to keep any softness out of her voice, and did not think she was that successful, but she couldn't not care about someone looking hurt like this, not when she had been there, when she still was there. "Did something else happen, or..."

And with that Kirito vanished once more. With the next rounds staggered, Sinon could watch what happened next, and get a measure of whether he was a true opponent, and maybe work out what had left him so utterly shaken.

As the match began, she couldn't help but think about him. His warm touch. The smiles they had both shared when she thought he was an innocent girl. The way even his snide remarks had created butterflies in her stomach.

_It's all his fault. Why did I let this happen to me? I can't get distracted, and I can't get attached to this liar who has invaded my soul._

In his next fight, he started listless, and she was sure he had been broken. But then something, maybe her harsh words or maybe her gentle ones, or maybe nothing to do with her at all, brought him back and then, and (after her own battles of course) in 3 fights that followed it, she witnessed exactly what she would be up against in the final and then the main finals. Incredible dodging, berserker rushing, nimble footwork, a gift for guessing where a shot would be, and brutal lightning strokes that carved opponents at close range. But more amazingly, he used his blade to strike the bullets fired at him out of the air, taking a few shots to non-lethal areas as a sacrifice whilst defending his head and heart with unbelievable skill. The skill involved was unique, and the mentality behind it bold and aggressive, and the tactic as a whole one she had never seen before. She had the advantage of a long range, patience and an invisible first shot, but she was worried for the first time. If he got her in his vision and charged like that, now seemingly driven single-mindedly on winning each match and not scared to get hit doing so, it would be a real test of her steel.

So his confidence hadn't been the thing that was shaken then - he was magnificent. Something else must have happened. She put aside that puzzle to outthink her semi-final opponent and make a perfect killing shot on a moving vehicle. As she had always known inside, surely the source of that connected feeling, it would come down to her vs Kirito and she would take his strength and tear the shrapnel, from before and from him, out of her heart.

That final showdown came soon enough. And to her gall, Kirito started it by walking towards her, not calmly or arrogantly as a ruse to get her to shoot, but obviously mind elsewhere and, proving to be a liar once more, not giving the fight his all as he had promised he would if they faced off, even as he had prepared to mock her with jokes about a date.

The indifference he was showing her and this tournament that he had excelled in and she had cared so much about, needed so much, that was part of her very essence, it all added together to the lake of passion she had dammed up and pretended to herself that she was in control of, and her resolve broke. So angry she couldn't keep her heart rate down, her sights grew wider and wider. She shot, but her rage had made it wild, unable to hit a thing, all restraint utterly lost.

"Screw you!"

Boiling blood, she confronted him, doing the stupidest thing a sniper could do and running towards the close-combat genius, but she needed to know why he showed her so much callous, casual disregard. And how he could look so dispassionate as he generated so much passion, such a degree of sensation she could never recall since she had started to feel numb by chance and the volition after the shock of killing and the burning of pariah-hood. As much as she tried not to, and as good as she had become as blunting her emotions, she cared, one way or another, so much about him, as much as she did about anything up to BoB itself. How could he, and how DARE he not care about her to see what hurt he had done her with his apathy?

 

He barely looked up as her bullets missed him and her footsteps approached him, but it was enough for her to see sorrow and reflection in the smoke of his eyes.

Why did she care so much? Why did she want, need to beat him so much? Was it because he was like her? Was that why they shared a moment of understanding, an unspoken covenant, when she had seem him so broken? Had life scarred him like it had her? 

"Why?! Does a fight with me not matter to you? Do I not matter?" The anger, subverted by the flux of emotion she had been building up since first seeing his gaze that morning, was turning more and more into hurt, hurt Sinon did not deserve.

_This was my safe space, damn you!_

There was a hint of confusion, but no deception, in his voice as he answered. "My only goal was to get to the tournament tomorrow, so I have no reason to fight."

 _What? Why did he, a novice, need so badly to get into this tournament that he had misused her so, fought so frantically in the qualifiers, shown such resolve all the way until this fight with me._ Her anger grew again as she considered _Is it because I am a girl? Is he a sexist as well as a fraud?_

Tears, for the first time in years, sprang to her eyes, pain in her chest from a whole new array of shrapnel that his casual disregard had sown there. She berated him for his thoughtlessness, for thinking of this as a mere game, when it was so clear that it was more for her.

"Don't assume I feel the same way!" That was a shout. So much for her cold sniper, both control over her shots and her feelings had abandoned her. She felt Sinon and Shino now both forced together by the pain they were experiencing, a whole new betrayal by this clueless, doll-faced, heartless bastard. He had promised. Promised that he would fight her in earnest. 

Then, she was astounded by what she saw and heard. Convinced she was wrong, that this man could never understand what he had done to her, she went quiet as his angelic features twisted with emotion: guilt, sadness, realisation, and yes, sympathy. She **felt** his understanding and affinity, somehow. And she heard him apologise, his tone now regret and sincerity. 

"I'm sorry. That was wrong of me. It IS only a game, a match. But that is why we must give our all in the fight, else we lose the right to live in this world. I thought I had already learned that." Sinon now had no idea what she was feeling, it seemed like every emotion all at once, and the sadness and haunted memory in his face draw the sympathy out of Sinon once more. Then in a moment turned to pure resolution, eyes now hard like granite.

"Sinon, will you give me a chance to make it up to you? Let's fight once more". "Right now?" She only had one bullet left, but from this range, with a tiny bit of control back after Kirito's apology, she wouldn't miss. In fact, her gun was statistically guaranteed to even if she closed her eyes.

He drew a bullet, and explained that he would toss it up and when it hit the floor, they would strike each other, her one shot against his sword, any hit wins. Wary, she agreed, but knew that with his reflexes and ability to block, he might be able to stop even a sniper bullet from 10 metres out if he predicted which of his head or chest he should protect. So, knowing that a hit was all she needed, she aimed, subtly without changing her position, at his thigh. As the bullet hit the ground, his sword flared and she fired. And he moved, sword blurring not across his face or his torso, but the left leg she had aimed at, timed perfectly and sending her bullet flying. She tried to react to reach for her back up pistol, but he was already moving and already on her, grabbing her top, blade in the other hand, beautiful face inches from hers, her shocked eyes unable to tear themselves away from the steel in his. 

"How?" She asked, knowing he couldn't have had time to see and respond to the prediction lines.

"I saw your eyes through the scope, and followed where they were shooting" His words hit her like a deluge, drowning her. Nobody could read a shot from the angle of your eyes. Nobody could predict a sniper's shot that well. He was so strong, stronger than mere talent at a game. It was there in his reckless charge, in his composed, confident stance, in the way he bent the physics of this world to his will. It had to be his will- skill alone could not account for it. She was now filled with awe, and envious longing for the strength he had - that will was what she needed, to reshape her own world. To move on. He clearly had demons but had this strength, so how had he moved on? She was uncomfortably aware that the longing for his strength, and longing to beat him, the deep level for which she connected to and cared, even if negatively, about him, was translated by her body into longing **for** him. Her heart was pounding with this harsh revelation, and she was embarrassed to realise that blood and heat had rushed to her groin. An unfamiliar sensation, but one she had read and heard about, the proximity of his fathomless eyes and warm body undeniably turning her on as much as his willpower was. 

"If you are that strong, what are you afraid of?" She had to know, so she could understand and emulate him. He tried to claim he had used skill alone, not strength, but regardless of whether he believed that, Sinon did not and said so.

 

_Maybe he hid his own strength from himself - if that's the case there is more hope for me than I expected._

 

"How can I become strong like that?" She needed to know. It was everything she had sought from this tournament, somehow here in front of her in this person she could see glimmers of her reflected soul in. It must be fate. "That is all I am trying to learn". Her fierceness was all gone. This was begging, pleading for the thing that could save Shino. And, another sign of some destiny at work, his philosophical answer cut Shino, Sinon, whoever she was right now, right to her core, leaving another piece of him in her heart, a sign that in some way Kirito was or had been her. The words were too personal to not mean that, but sounded too personal to Kirito to not refer to himself.

 

"If that bullet could also kill a player for real, and if you didn't shoot first someone you loved or you would die, could you still pull the trigger? Kill them first? I can't do it any more. So you see, I am not really strong at all. I don't even know the names of the men I killed back then. I blocked it out, closed my eyes, and tried to forget it all"

The words spoke to Shino's very being, disarmed her completely, and mixed in with the recollection of her own, endless pain, her own oblivion, and the hope that what he offered seemed to give her, the pain in his voice drew her to him. She reached out her hand to his face and was one instant from trying to ease his hurt and hers with a kiss, a joining of two similar fractured souls. She hadn't forgot her anger, or forgiven his actions, but she now felt like she could understand a part of them, saw herself and hurt and hope in him, saw in his eyes that he was a kind person, but a damaged one, just like her.

 

Then he spoiled the moment, with talk of how he had won and how she had to sign out. And the duel and the opportunity had passed.

 

_Idiot. Him, and me. Damaged or not, I can't like him. I can't be with anyone until I am fixed. And to do that I need to be stronger. To be stronger than him. I won't let these feeling derail me. I now know I can do this. Next time, I will win_


	4. To Numb My Heart

"Who the hell does he think he is?!"

Shino had been ranting about Kirito for the best part of the last hour, as Kyouji listened on stony-faced. She was embarrassingly aware that she was coming across as a touch obsessed, but after their moment, the suggestion that an epiphany into this stranger, who seemed to be brought to her by fate, was nearly there before he (and never mind the warmth she had felt at his touch, and the moment she had barely just held off actually **kissing** him!) made another cocky remark and lost even that gain for her, she had been unable to get him out of her mind or her heart. The fact he had tricked her still hurt, but it hurt more to accept that she wanted to know him better, wanted to touch those pretty locks on his pretty face, the strength of their connection scared her, who had tried to flatten her feelings for years and even then wasn't used to the strength of this kind of storm inside her. She absolutely could not help harbouring nearly devastating emotions regarding him, so the easiest thing was to channel all of that into anger and outrage.

_Damn him for making me feel **anything**! I never asked for this._

The whole plan had been to get strong enough to feel nothing, but now she feel an unstoppable tide of emotion building up and flowing inside her, heat and warmth and desire, a deep sensation of need and concern and mutual experience she couldn't name, and yes more pain, both of the reopening of her fragile, never-healed old scars and a new pain, confused and hurting for what he had done to her also what she was sure someone somewhere had done to him. She didn't need this, didn't want it, these feelings rising up in her, and she could barely handle the pain as it had been never mind this exquisite fresh wound. She had wished to numb her heart against those hurts, and she wished she could find a way to do so again, to finally be strong enough to flare through the darkness of her past and her guilt. She needed something to take the feeling away, not heighten it.

_I wish to numb my heart, not open it._

 

In her anger, as the only way she could mentally construct a solution to getting Kirito out of her thoughts, she imagined finally besting and shooting him. Then, feeling the weight of his silence and of his gaze, she turned back to Kyouji, who indicated to her right hand. To her shock, she had made a gun with it, something she would usually break down even thinking about here.

 

_He even makes Shino and Sinon merge. Takes away my very masks too._

Understandably, Kyouji pointed out that this emotiveness and expression from her was very out of character, as was talking about another person like this. He was right, it was completely unheard of for fragile, shy Shino or cold, aloof Sinon, and she hated that she couldn't control to adequately explain it, but the jealous hint to his tone and too detached mannerisms left her uneasy. He had never acted this way with her either. Then again there had never really been another boy, or even person, in the mix before. 

She tried to express her anger, explaining that was why she was fixating on Kirito, but even she didn't entire buy it. 

"I'm worried about these changes in you, Asada-san".

 _So am I._ That thought was wry.

Suddenly out of nowhere, he hugged her. Not that she minded, but sudden human contact was still an issue for her, so her discomfort built further, and only half-unexpected, he started to babble. Telling her how great she was, which was probably useful for her self-esteem although transparent, but then what she had feared. A proposition, revealing his feelings for her and implicitly a plea for her to return them.

This had been building, she felt, and explained the tense atmosphere between him and Kirito earlier. She thought about it. It wasn't an impossibility - Kyouji was a good friend, kind, had introduced her to GGO, and she guessed many girls would call him handsome. The feelings she was having for Kirito, who she almost hated, were a good sign that maybe she could have those kind of feelings for Kyouji. But she had never had those kinds of feelings for him, or anyone else other than the dark swordsman, and in truth she suspected she would only be able to see Kyouji as a friend, with no chemistry or attraction towards him. However, she didn't want to hurt him, and had to accept that she was in a pretty confused place right now, so offered a half-truth: that she couldn't start to think about him or anyone else in those terms until she defeated her issues and finished the tournament. That was all true, and it was possible that she could find some ground for romance once she wasn't broken. However, she was worried even so that she was giving him false hope, when she compared the fraternal care she had for him with the complex, bewildering vortex of emotions she felt for Kirito. It seemed the former could never really become the latter.

 

_What does it matter? The aim is to numb my heart, so in the end I can decide to be with Kyouji to make him happy and me safe, I don't want this so called love anyway..._

 

She offered him the not entirely vain promise that she might think about it after GGO, and hoped that either the way she felt would change, or he would drop it. She couldn't lose her only friend, so it scared her that her answer might, in fact would probably, be no.

 

Unfortunately, even that evening before game started he had clearly not forgotten about it. Outside the governor's building she ran into him as Spiegel, her mind finally almost appropriately empty for the fray, and he brought it up again. She brushed it off, again delaying the decision for later, but uncomfortable in her suspicion that this would not be easily resolved without doing something she probably wouldn't be happy with or alternatively hurting him and hurting their friendship. That, yet another new, pain was cemented by Spiegel telling her that he believed her, implying that he believed she would end up with him, and wait for her, before he went off to cheer her from the sidelines, leaving her with only new nerves.

 Then, out of nowhere, she bumped into the other guy. Kirito.

Noting how her stomach jumped when he looked at her, first with surprise and then an easy smile, seemingly no antipathy on his side at all, she cursed the roiling of her conflicting desires. Her body responded to him in a way that she just couldn't see happening with Kyouji. There was no point in denying her sexual attraction if nothing else. 

"Good luck. I promise I'll do my best to win out there, I won't lose!"

"Me neither. Bring your best."

 

That was the kind of exchange Sinon wanted with Kirito. Maybe hating him was too much - if she could control her emotions it would be better for the combat. They should be rivals. Respect between them but no mercy.

Thinking that that was done and she could prepare in peace at last, Sinon retired to a corner of the square to meditate, only to become irate once more when that dumb smile came into her view as Kirito inexplicably felt he could squeeze yet more advice from her. After he kept pestering her, pleasant this time, his clear respect for her ability a much needed salve after his dismissiveness in the past, but still firm, she decided it would save time and energy just to give in and answer whatever stupid questions he had now.

Finding a suitable bar, she went over the specifics of the finals, but her growing satisfaction in showing off her knowledge was snuffed out when the crowd inside reminded her of her own mistake by assuming he was a girl, hitting on her and falling for her fake charms to agree to cheer for her. All inclination to be helpful now drained from her, tired of this rollercoaster that interacting with the young man seemed to be, she prepared to break away again, only to be lured in by some interesting questions.

"Are there any of the competitors, um, aside from me, that you don't know about?" That caught her unaware, and piqued her interest. Yes, she answered, it seemed 3 of them. Pale Rider, Sterben and Jushi X. But this guy didn't know any of them, so why did he care. She sensed a link to his mysterious comments and malaise from yesterday, and leverage to probe further. For one, she couldn't help but be interested, but also it might help her ascertain the source of Kirito's strength, or even denote a weakness she could exploit. It took some pressure but she eventually made him agree to tell her what his motives for asking, and for playing, were.

And found herself shocked once more. He confessed, with reluctance but openness, that he had been disturbed when she found him seemingly upset the other day. By someone who knew him from another game, someone he believed utterly to be his enemy, and someone he believed was fighting in BoB and likely to be one of the three she had named.

Sinon was astounded, especially as he seemed to be implying the term 'enemy' literally, without the competitive passion she had found in their rivalry to use up the surplus of passion she encountered when Kirito faced her, but with something cold and dangerous in his expression instead. 

She was going to press for more information, sensing this was key to understanding the man in front of her, but she didn't need to. The revelations kept coming. This enemy and Kirito had tried to kill each other before, with the implication that this was for real as alluded to in the speech he had given her when they were so close yesterday, close enough to kiss. This enemy had done awful, unforgivable things (Sinon shuddered at the thought of her own crime, the murder she had committed 5 years ago) along with others, and Kirito had used violence and his blade to stop these things. 

 

_Is that confirmation? Did he just admit he killed them? Is he really like me, then? If so, surely I have hope. He makes me so mad, but if he gives me hope that I can forget the past, it's worth it._

 

The next lines confused her though. He said he had run away from the responsibility, tried to forget what he had done. Surely that was the aim, a good thing? That was how he was here, able to act without fear? But he said it with mild self-disgust. Even the presence of that emotion surprised her. She shouldn't assume this rival of hers was ever simple. 

The pieces of the puzzle slipped together in her head. He had mentioned killing in a way that compared this game to real life, mentioned this enemy from another game with the implication he had fought in earnest and killed people allied to the enemy, and that felt the weight of his actions. Only one game had real stakes of life and death. And the guilt and, amazingly, fear in his eyes made it clear that this was as key to Kirito as that day at the bank, that robbery, had been for Shino. It as a fragment he carried in his soul, like shrapnel.

"Are you what they call an SAO survivor then?" Damn, she shouldn't have said that. It was obvious that she was sizing him up, and he wouldn't tell her more now, plus, annoying as he was, it was a pretty rude thing to ask.

"Never mind, I shouldn't have asked. We need to prep in the isolation zones now. It's nearly time. But if you have an enemy, don't let him kill you now. You have to get to the end to face me, like you promised. If someone gets you first, I will never forgive you". Bad wording - it implied she might forgive him otherwise. But, in reality, she was kind of growing fond of him, it was pretty hard to hate him when you realised how guileless he really was, and hard to hate a face that cute.

Either way, he just nodded, pensive, and they strode off to get ready, knowing they would meet again once the fighting started.


	5. Shot through the heart

**Bang**.

With practiced ease, Sinon lined up her first, unseen shot, and didn't give Shishigane any second chance. Shot through the heart, the avatar collapsed to the ground. *DEAD* As the marker on him pronounced. Sinon started to feel at ease for the first time in ages- within the first 15 minutes of BoB, getting an early kill, this was a good start.

_One down. Now, let's see who else is near..._

The 15 minute satellite scan was coming up, but she had time to get to a safe spot where she could snipe anyone trying to hunt her if she turned up on their radar. Once she was secured, she saw that Lion King Ritchie, her occasional ally Dyne and the debutant Pale Rider were all close. No Kirito, which evoked very mixed feelings. Ritchie was on some high ground- knowing him he would try to fortify it and stay put. No threat to her, no need to risk herself getting near him. He'd either get taken out by players attacking from two sides at once, or have to come and find her and her bullet. As for the former, she preferred to be a solo player frankly. 

_So, one of the other two then. Let's get a view on them..._

Suddenly, she heard a breath to her behind. She was impressed, she thought she had every angle covered. And concerned: at this range it was unlikely she could draw her pistol and fire before they killed her first. So soon. That was gutwrenching.

Nonetheless she spun. And staggered as she heard a voice call out "Hey Sinon". Kirito. Well, he impressed her again, and if he wanted to kill her at this range there was nothing she could do about it. In fact his blade was out now, the noise now very obvious, and inches from her neck. If she moved further around, it was over.

"What do you want?"

"You saw Pale Rider, and another player, close together near us, right?" He didn't wait for her nod. "So I assume you were going to snipe them, or maybe let one kill the other and get the winner. Hold off. Please. Just watch them through your scope and see what happens".

Nope. This guy can't just come here, not kill me and then dictate my battle plan. 

Sinon made this view very clear, but Kirito showed that same, inherent stubbornness that had attracted her when he'd first revealed it as a 'girl', picking weapons and entering the fast draw game. Then, once more, said "Please". Smart guy stayed away from "Trust me".

Still, BoB offered little reward for extra kills... It wouldn't hurt to at least let one kill the other and save a bullet...

"Maybe. But then you have to tell me what the hell is going on, and why the hell you've come to my game and turned my life here upside down. Maybe I can trust you after that trick you pulled, maybe you can justify it, but I can't trust you if I don't know you".

No contemplation. No hesitation. Just a sharp nod and "Deal".

 

Sinon zeroed in on the two men fighting. Both were ok. Dyne was too passive though and a nice manouvre by Pale Rider left him open and vulnerable and quickly taking 3 shots, at least one fatal, from the acrobatic newcomer. Who immediately once hitting the ground after his airborn flourish, was hit by a stun shot out of nowhere. Nobody to be seen. Aside from Ritchie, whose style this definitely wasn't, nobody had been close enough on the scan to ambush him either.

Suddenly it struck Sinon that Kirito hadn't been on her scan.

"How did you get behind me? And why didn't you show up on the scan?!"

"Well, I figured the scan needed an aerial route if the game was trying to be realistic, so gambled that the water might cover me so I could scope out whom to attack, and then I saw you were close so I popped up a bit behind you where the canal comes by this alcove. After that, my old game let me accrue a bunch of stealth points and I'm pretty practised at stealth skills".

He genuinely said that with no smugness or ego. Just stating facts that he outsmarted a major gameplay mechanic and snuck up on one of GGO's most eminent snipers. She wasn't sure if she hated that. 

"Whoever this is, whoever Death Gun is, probably did something similar. SAO. You push the limits of the game or you die."

Death Gun? The urban legend? Now, this sounded like an explanation might finally come forth. But before she could press him, a cloaked figure, one whose aura of menace sent shivers down her neck, stepped out of the shadows. Carrying a rifle as good as her own. Accuracy International L115A3. Great range, .338 callibre, stun or kill shots. She mused on who the mystery sniper might be, until she was snapped out of by a panicked shout from Kirito. The unflappable, demonstrably powerful Kirito. Though she'd seen him this shaken once before, so surely this was linked...

"Shoot him! Dead! Please!"

A please from him was hard to resist, presumptuous or not. She hesitated one second then shot. It was well placed but by prescience or luck he dodged at the right moment. Did he suspect they were watching the spectacle? How? In a swift motion, he crossed himself, drawing his handgun, too far away and small to identify, and shot Pale Rider once in the chest. Not a high enough calibre, it wouldn't kill him and that paralysis must wear off soon. An error, surely?

But, as he fumbled for his SMG, he vanished. *DISCONNECTED".

_No. Way. I've never heard of that happening._

It was too perfect timing to be a coincidence. After a pause, whilst Sinon lined up a second shot, he vanished. Sinon had no idea what had just happened but she was pretty sure someone here might. Shocked but fixing her face with determination, she turned to Kirito.

"What just happened?".

 She expected him to skirt around the topic, be vague as he had before when his motives here and his past had come up. But, to his credit, he immediately launched into a concise explanation of what had happened from his point of view up to now. He was sent here to try and identify and confront Death Gun, who he claimed was real and linked to at least two, presumably now three, real life deaths of GGO players he had shot in game. So, a crazy murderer. It was hard to buy but it did fit what she had just watched, and she was pretty sure that Kirito at least believed it to be true. She told him so and to her surprise and a spike of internal delight, he sincerely thanked her. It seemed the two of them would be in some alliance now, and Sinon found to her surprise once more that she didn't mind. Spending time with Kirito, when he wasn't being provocative, was a very easy and natural feeling thing, and he didn't seem that bad a guy the more she knew him. Plus, it came with the bonus of a pretty sight when he jogged in front of her, with his cute rear, and the aid of what appeared to be a video game prodigy.

It was time for another scan, so she looked to see if she could track the mystery killer. No luck. He must have done what Kirito had done, using the water to hide.

They had some debate now. Staying still so long together would attract other fighters, and though they could deal with them, splitting up, though keeping their new alliance, made more sense. Until Kirito insisted her could go after the murderer alone and left Sinon no chance to respond.

Spurred on with purpose, Kirito launched himself off running, with no clear plan. _Idiot._ She thought that with some affection though. After proving to not be what she expected he had now, well, proven again not to be what she expected. She was going to head along with him, both to clean up her game and try to protect him. 

_I'm still really confused how I feel about this guy, but if there's a chance he can die, I can't let that happen. No more blood on my hands, plus then I'll never know his secret source of willpower._

( _Or get to know him better afterward_ a sneaky second voice said. She ignored that one. She had no idea what he looked him in real life but it definitely wasn't going to be like this and she doubted her hormones would keep surging at some spotty greasy teenager.)

At first he had disagreed, worried, sweetly but frankly patronisingly, about her safety. Well, he wasn't the only stubborn one here.

"This is our chance. He'll be unequipped underwater, where he can only use his handgun. If we work out where he comes up, I can beat just a handgun.." "No! You saw him kill, truly kill in the flesh, with that gun! I can't let you risk it!"

In the end though, his common sense came around. As much as she liked being the lone wolf, she knew now was the time to cooperate, and as it was neither of them were safe no matter where they stood, if Death Gun could disappear and really kill them. Once she put it like that, he seemed to accept the truth easily, smiling at her with an earnest nod that sent butterflies through her.

Then, suddenly his blade was drawn, crackling purple energy, and he cast her backward, just before prediction lines sprang up from the cover in front of them. Must be a player they had ignored in their haste. How did this guy react so quickly, this must be something deeper like instinct. The third player opened fire.

 Sinon braced for damage but before a single on target shot could reach her, her new partner consummately swatted each one out of the air, giving her an involuntary rush as he said,

"First let's deal with this one. I'll shield us, you shoot".

To their opponent's bewilderment, that's exactly what happened. Sinon, trusting Kirito in this context at least, ignored the fiery hail of bullets and lined up her shot, aiming through the whirlwind of energy in front of her, Kirito dodging any bullet he could, and slicing apart any bullet that he had to or that neared her, so that not a single one landed on her. Just as she was ready, one stray looked like it was doomed to tag her, before a backhanded motion and a flourish saw Kirito dissect it behind him. She had to take a moment, distracted in awe, acutely aware of the rush of heat to her loins and the fact that embarrassingly she was beginning to dampen there.

But she had a job to do. She lined up the shot, and took it, shooting their foe right through the heart.

Feeling breathless, and for reasons she wasn't quite comfortable with, Sinon took a moment to watch this hero as he switched off his blade. His stance now he wasn't pretending to be a girl was unmistakeably masculine, but he still carried that elegant, confident poise that had help catch her attention. 

_Surely this can't go any further? No, first we have a job to do. If Kirito is right, an important one. Maybe this is the fear, the threat I have to face to earn my strength._

Composing herself, she discussed with her ally what was the obvious next move- Death Gun would head to the city area, given he was a sniper. And based on Kirito's theory about the new players, that left Jushi X and Sterben. 

As they arrived they agreed that if they saw one nearby they'd work together to identify and take that player out, but if both were, they should prioritise Jushi X: Sinon had noticed that their name was almost an inversion of the Japanese for Death Gun, which would be a weird coincidence. Sterben wasn't on the radar anyway when the scan came around, but Jushi was. That made things easy. They were set up in the stadium, and once they had arrived there, it was clear they were a sniper, and their man. 

They would approach it in the most logical way. Kirito would use cover to approach the stadium head on, using his incredible evasion and deflection skills to take Jushi's attention and get in close, but this would be a distraction as Sinon got into a good sniping position to take them out.

As Kirito ran off, one part of Sinon considered taking him out from behind. Maybe a touch of resentment was left there, then. But this was more important than BoB now, and even if not she wanted to face him with both of them full strength and on equal footing. 

That brief conflict passing, mind no longer paralysed, she was suddenly struck from the side and found, to her horror, that she couldn't move. Then, stepping into her wide eyed vision, a sinister ghost appeared out of thin air, obviously with some kind of cloaking device. That was how he was avoiding the scans, then. Death Gun was Sterben. They had been tricked, and she was in trouble.

The figure oozed a sense of hatred and a feeling she could only describe as evil, malice. The cold, knife in her gut only twisted more when he spoke, red eyes gleaming, voice distorted as deep and dark as a passage to hell itself. She lay helpless as he approached, speaking as coldly as the grave.

" Kirito, this will tell me if it is really you. When I kill your friend, the true Black Swordsman would go into a rage. So watch me kill her, and show me your rage, your mad blade, once more."

She didn't think he meant just kill in the game, and the thought of death terrified her. Not as much as the thought of being powerless though, and she was Sinon here, and not dead yet. Fighting her paralysis inch by inch, making slow progress with her hand, she went for her side arm, needing one good shot, whilst he crossed himself again.

And then she saw the gun he drew. Black Star. The gun she had seen at that robbery 5 years ago, in a scene that was vividly and violently dragged into her mind now, the one that haunted her as Shino in dreams and waking. The one that made her almost want to die, that had ruined her life and bloodied her hands. 

The gun she had killed with. 

A new paralysis crippled her, as terror and disbelief overwhelmed her mind, and she replayed stark images of that day, the man robbing the bank, threatening to kill, looking as though he would act on it, preparing to shoot, Shino only 11 knocking him down, him lunging at her, this gun there, she got it first. Bang. Bang. Bang. Blood on the floor, man dead with pace drawn in terror. Shino wounded forever. Hated forever. Guilty, forever.

_How does he have that gun? Is this a Fury, coming to claim my life as recompense for my sins?_

Either way, Sinon knew she was about to die and about to let it happen, that she could never escape that day. And she felt it like an icy shot through the heart.


	6. Fatal Bullet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I will eventually get to the explicit stuff. Just felt that it wasn't right to breeze through the story too fast without exploring Sinon's feelings  
> I reckon we will finish BoB in Chapter 7, see Shino meet Kirito IRL and then meet Asuna in Chapter 8 (maybe 9 if I shorten the chapters), then get to know them a bit in 9 + 10, and sex will begin at the end of 10 or in 11.

Her rifle helplessly out of reach, her handgun dropped by her own hand in the trauma of reliving her worst moment, Shino Asada lay powerless on the ground, waiting for death, maybe a comfort at this point. Suddenly, waiting for it all to end, she felt a jab of regret that she had never found out what the secret to Kirito keeping going after his trauma was, what drove his fire - she had been so close to finding the answer, to discovering how to go on living.

_The meaning of strength, of fighting, I was so sure that if I kept watching him then I'd understand it one day. I'm not ready to give up!_

Steeling herself for one last move, knowing she was too late as her foe put his finger on the trigger, Shino prayed in her mind, for a second time in as many days, pleading for a way out, a way out she hadn't known she had even wanted until now. 

Then, her eyes slamming shut with the shock of it, she heard a gun shot. She felt nothing. 

_Is this death?_

But in her vision her health bar sprang up, unscathed. Her eyes snapped open, to see Sterben wavering, wounded on his right shoulder.

 **Bang!** Another shot clipped his other shoulder, driving him back away from Shino, forcing him to sheath his pistol and use his rifle to exchange fire with the mystery saviour. 

Then came smoke, thick and grey out of nowhere.

Then came Kirito. She didn't know it was him until she was hauled up into her rescuer's arms, rifle as well, and her eyes were jolted open again by the turbulent ride as he ran. hard. She saw him then, face full of concern, marring his angelic features, panting as he fled for both of them under renewed fire, presumably from Death Gun. Determination hard on his face, he took them to a parking bay, and listening to her weary advice that he wouldn't be able to ride the mechanical horse, tossed first Shino and then himself onto a motorbike. Which evidently he could use, blitzing off with practised technique, weaving to deny their pursuer any clean shot. 

Shino was exhausted, left empty by the stress reaction she had just endured as well as the threat of her imminent demise, despite her new conviction to get through this. But she was dragged back into the moment when her companion stopped their bike and asked her to destroy the horse with her gun. It was a good plan, he was clearly a good driver so if Death Gun were left only another bike it was unlikely he could catch up, but the horse could probably catch them. However, despite lining the shot up, she found her finger paralysed, the trials of Shino now brought into this realm, her body refusing to obey her mind. Imposing the face of the man she had killed onto his cold metallic mask, she saw Death Gun run in to claim the very horse she had failed to destroy, sending double prongs of guilt through her gut.

"Sinon, hang on!"

Kirito had already started the vehicle moving again, but needed his attention to steer the thing away from the faster horse. Filled with terror, Shino begged Kirito t go faster, terror she had never felt in this land. Death Gun fired 2 shots as he pursued, barely missing. She had never felt this vulnerable or weak. 

"Save me, save me!" Words that she had never dreamed she might utter here, where she was meant to be strong. But Kirito remained like steel, unwavering, the body that Shino had her trembling arms wrapped around a bizarre blend of relaxation and tension, like a whip ready to be used. The horse was gaining though, so Shino wasn't surprised to hear him say:

"Sinon, can you still hear me? At this rate, he'll catch us. Shoot him."

"I can't..." said with no strength at all. _Why? How had this happened?_

"You don't need to hit him. Just distract him!"

"I can't! He's... he's..." She couldn't get the words out, to explain what had happened to her.

"Then drive. I'll try to use the gun". No blame, no questions, just matter of fact. How was he so cool. But Shino knew he wouldn't be able to use Hecate, her unique weapon. It was a part of her. Using her very dregs of effort, fighting every step against the raw terror inside her and the instinct to give up and die, letting those two things fight each other, she forced herself to line up a shot. Her much vaunted aim was all over the place, the calm void she usually used to still her heart shattered, but she didn't have to hit with a fatal bullet. However, as a shot became available, she found once again that her finger disobeyed her.

"I can't shoot. I can't. My finger won't move." Her voice was weary with despair. "I can't fight any more". And her face twisted on the verge of tears, tears at her own helplessness, and the theft of the thing she relied on most of all - her strength in this place.

Kirito wouldn't let her lie down and die like that, it seemed. "No, you are wrong. Everyone can fight." Easy for him to say. "It's just a matter as to whether we should choose to." For the first time, he seemed angry. It was fair enough, she had let them both down, and now they would both die. 

"Then I choose not to fight. I don't want to suffer any more". Every ounce of defiance had gone from her. She felt like a shell, an empty puppet of a person. The facade of Sinon had gone and now she was just Shino's empty sadness and fear with blue eyes and blue hair. "I thought I could be strong here, but it was all self-deception in the end." She closed her eyes, unable to take any more.

_And so it ends..._

Then, his touch. Electricity at his touch, warm hand clasping over her hand, the wave of it passing through her body and snapping open her eyes once more. 

"We'll do it together, just once. Move your finger with me". He was leaning back, one hand keeping the handlebars of their bike straight, one holding hers over the trigger, body poised in a position of impossible grace, face looking at hers with resolve and compassion. Nonetheless, the journey on rocky terrain meant they wouldn't get a clean shot, and Shino told him this, to which he promised the shaking would stop in 5 seconds. They saw the prediction line from their enemy's Black Star coming up, flicking between their faces, as he counted down, then just as he promised the movement stopped. Effortlessly driving up a ramp, Kirito had taken them into the air, and creating a weird, serene moment where time slowed down.

_How is he so calm, despite all of this? No, wait, this isn't calmness. He's just giving all of himself, choosing to use his strength, whatever it is, to fight rather than look for excuses. That is where his willpower, his strength comes from - the decision to fight. The choice._

Inspired for long enough to regain command of her hands, she moved her finger and together they fired, missing Death Gun completely but by some fortune hitting the gas tank of a truck on the road, the huge explosion it caused throwing Sterben off his mount and letting them escape to safety. Now moved out of her stupor, Shino spent the remainder of their journey, now through bare, unsympathetic desert, looking at her hero in awe. How had she ever thought petty thoughts of him? This man who would never give up, who had decided to protect them both, although she had been as cold as she could to him just a day before. So he hadn't corrected her about his gender - what was that compared to the decision to risk his life to save a stranger? She had never had someone she could rely on before, never needed it in GGO and never been granted it outside of there, where she needed it desperately. But she knew, in her heart, that whatever else she could rely on this person to help her without a second thought. 

A hero chooses to fight, even when it is hard...

Shino/Sinon found a cave for them to hide in, one they could defend even against this implacable foe. Then, waiting for the inevitable assault once the scanner revealed their position, they talked. 

Kirito asked about the attack by Death Gun, correctly surmising that he could turn invisible, which Sinon explained was likely using a rare cloaking device item, which should be less effective when they were in a defensible cave in the sand. She asked how Kirito had been able to come to her aid so quickly after they had split up, which he explained by the realisation that Jushi had been a girl and thus not the man they had seen kill, and thus that they had missed something if nobody else showed up on the scan in the city. He used that worry to defeat Jushi X and then looked for Sinon, seeing her on the ground in clear danger and using the defeated opponent's equipment to storm Death Gun and drive him away on the run.

"If only I had been more alert..." Shino was tired of feeling guilty, but at this point, she couldn't feel much else. Everything was beginning to  build up inside her again, and she wasn't sure she could cope much longer - this recovery was a respite not a remission of her symptoms.

"You don't need to blame yourself so much," there was only kindness in Kirito-san's voice, clearly it was obvious that she was still shaken. "Neither of us realised, so if I had been in your shoes, I would have been the one paralysed and I know you would have saved me." He said that with certainty that Shino could not feel.

_This man who I thought was my rival, my enemy, is consoling me. He can tell that I'm broken and weak, and he's trying to reassure me as if I were a child._

"Anyway, I'll go, but you should stay safe here. I'd rather you could log out, but in this tournament you can't"

Wait, he was going to take him on alone? As if she were luggage? She verbalised her confusion.

"Yeah. He is strong so it'll be tough to beat him without him getting a hit on me. If he were to have that gun of his aimed at me again, next time I might lose strength and abandon you, so I can't drag you into it again"

"You fear him too." A statement, not a question.

"Yes. Once I would have been able to fight him no matter what,even if I might die, but now I have things I have to protect so I can't afford to die"

"Things to protect?" That seemed to fit with his behaviour.

"Yeah, in the real world and in VR". 

Then why was he going to risk his life now? "Then let's just stay here and hide. We can't log out, but when there's just one other player left we can kill ourselves and let them win". Kirito shook his head. "If we choose that, he could kill others".

Ah. Again with the sacrifice - he's choosing to fight even though he's afraid, to protect others. _You really are strong._ _Then I must try to, if that's where your strength comes from. And I can't live with the shame of letting another die for me._

Sinon/Shino explained that she would come too, and fight. But, protective or patronising, Kirito tried to stop her, telling her that as a sniper she was at more risk and she might really die. She had to say it, now. What she had been feeling for months and months. "I don't care if I die. Just then I did, I was so scared of dying, weaker than even 5 years ago. Pathetic. Screaming. I'd rather die than live like that any more." Kirito interjected to insist that everyone was afraid to die, but she kept on going "I'm tired of living in permanent fear," Shino didn't mean just now, she was pouring out feeling that had consumed her for as long as she could recall, things she had never told a soul, "But I won't beg to come with you - I can fight on my own!"

This was it, her chance, her final chance, to choose to fight and get the strength she needed, the strength to live not only here but in the world as well, or to die. Those were her only two options of escape, and, well, if it came to the latter that was better than living on weak and hopeless. Seemingly angry, Kirito grabbed her "You plan to die alone, is that what you are saying?"

"Yes. I think that's my fate". She had been alone for years now. This interaction had promised some hope for a future, but deep down she knew it was in vain. She had been dead in a way for 5 years. "Let me go: I have to go"

"You're wrong! Nobody dies alone, they die in those that a bit of them lives inside of too! A bit of you lives inside of me!"

Those words produced, as often seemed the case with Kirito, mixed feelings in Shino. A spark of joy and hope that he might return her feelings, that their connection was real, but also anger that he presumed so much of her. "I've never given any of myself to anyone!"

"But we are already involved in each other!" He was unreasonably upset now. This wasn't his choice to make, it was hers, and she hadn't asked for this from him.

"So what, you will protect me for the rest of my life?!" _And make me helpless, reliant, weak._ Everything, her confused feeling for this infuriating figure, her anger at him dictating to her, her fear of death, her fear of life, her frustration, self-loathing, shame at her earlier weakness, but most of all her exhaustion at feeling helpless, the lack of control she had over her life, it all came rushing through her heart, her face and through her eyes in hot angry tears, ragged sobs and then passionate shouts. "You don't know anything! Don't say that! This is my personal battle to fight, even if I die. You have no right to blame me, to blackmail me out of my choice!" She was shaking now, she wasn't sure with what emotion any more. "Or are you going to be responsible for me forever?" She took a deep breath, "Will you hold the hands of a murderer?!"

Nobody would protect her, have "a piece of her inside them" if they knew what she was. The other children had shunned her the day she pulled that triggered, a terrified child. Every day they had reminded her of the blood on her hands, in accusing voices she heard now, ringing through her skull. All the pain flooded back into her, too much to take as she let out wails of anguish.

"I hate you so much!" How could he be so blind to the turmoil he had caused in her, so cooly doing what gave him the power to fight, but denying it to her, giving her only pity, making her weak, pity she didn't deserve, taking the choice to fight from her?! Making her feel for someone again, stopping her from numbing her heart, then once it was open to feeling making her relive her pain and her shame.

"I hate you so much..." All she could do was weep.

 

 

 


	7. Consequences

Stripped bear emotionally, drained of energy, Shino and Kirito sat in silence for a minute, before Shino felt the need to collapse to the ground.

"I do hate you," she said, knowing it was a half-lie, flavoured with truth but oversimplifying her feelings, "But I need to rest."

She lay on his lap, and despite the pain searing through her chest thanks to his interference in her life, his touch and closeness gave her a hint of comfort. He seemed to radiate support, his strength was there to spare but she couldn't take it. She couldn't rely on someone else to be strong for her.

The rawness she now felt, tempered with his strangely reassuring presence, somehow instilled a need to talk in Shino. To finally get everything that happened to her out in the open, to have someone understand and to see her burden even if she couldn't let them share it. It had been so long since she had someone she could talk to-do Kyouji knew from before and she couldn't go over the details knowing she was being judged from the start, so what she told Kirito she had never told a person since the police on the night that it happened.

She explained everything, the robbery in her home town when she was 11, the man threatening the lady beside her with his gun, the way she had shot him dead, that the media claimed he had died when his gun misfired but people around her had found out the truth and the way that seeing a gun outside GGO made her throw up. The way she saw the face of the man she had killed everytime she saw a gun, and how scared she got. But also how she managed to deal with guns in this world and had been convinced if she became strong enough here it would fix her in the real world, and let her forget. She was so shaken up because when Death Gun had attacked her here, with the gun she had once killed with, her courage and her Sinon persona fled, leaving only her real self, scared and weak and powerless, and that if she had to live that way forever in both worlds, she would prefer to die, even though that scared her too. 

It was better than living without joy, living in fear. If she ran away from Death Gun and her past without fighting, choosing to fight as Kirito had just taught her, it would leave her even weaker and she couldn't live that way any more.

Kirito listened quietly, occasionally interjecting with gentle questions, never a moment of judgement in his tone, grey evening sky eyes now full not of pity but of tenderness, with sympathy but also empathy. He let her finish, and then, voice barely above a whisper but still as clear as cold night, spoke:

"I have killed someone as well."

Words that weren't a surprise to Shino, that came with a haunted quality but offered her something like hope.

_This one knows something of what I feel. He claims to be scared but he is so brave and so strong despite all that happened. As long as he is here, maybe I can do the same._

Kirito explained that he knew Death Gun, though not exactly which player it was, from the game they had both played together- the infamous Death game, Sword Art Online ( _I knew it_ ). Death Gun was a part of a murder cult called Laughing Coffin who had been killing players despite deaths in SAO resulting in real life death. One day, to stop further murders, Kirito and a group of leading players had launched an attack on the cult to subdue them, but they had been tipped off and ready, so the two sides fought. Kirito's group had won but he himself killed two men in the combat (and he alluded to one other though not what had happened there). Like he had with her, Shino listened without judgement, only interrupting to confirm things.

"I forced myself to forget what I had done until Death Gun confronted me yesterday when he recognised me. He was a member of Laughing Coffin, so you see I have to finish this, it's between me and him."

Shino understood why he thought this was his fight then. His own demon to face, though it didn't stop it from being hers too. She looked at his beautiful face as it changed, lost in sad memory, then stony with lethal intent. 

_How could that other guy recognise him if he looks so feminine here? I guess the name might be the same, and the sword fighting... Much like my incident, nobody ever talks about SAO, everyone just pretends it didn't happen or it was a tragic accident that doesn't need revisiting. Nobody seems to think what the SAO Survivors might have done or lived through or need._

Now that she knew that he shared some of her pain, that he was a little like her, she had to know how he dealt with it. She touched his arm, feeling the kindred spirit between them once more, as well as her own pulse quickening at this chance for escape and chance to share with this boy she felt so close to.

"Please tell me one thing, Kirito - how did you overcome your pain, those memories? How do you stop them from controlling your whole life? How can you be so strong even now?"

Eyes swimming in sorrow, he matched her plaintive gaze, and she hated herself for a moment for imagining that she could be the only one who was feeling pain: pain and sadness, once you looked past the steely resolve and utter confidence, were there openly in those two shifting orbs of sky. 

"I haven't." Those words stopped her heart. _Please don't take my hope from me..._

"Last night I dreamed time after time of the faces of the three men I've killed. I couldn't sleep. I'll never ever be able to forget their dying faces, their voices, the words they spoke."

_No, no, no! Please, I needed this! I can't take any more new pain..._

Tears welled in her eyes again, and feeling lost once more, she asked the only one who seemed like the answer to her prayers for help once more.

"Then, what, what can I do?" Her arm on his, now trembling.

"But I think that's important. We cannot ignore what we have done, but look to atone for our actions. They have consequences, both good and bad. If I hadn't killed, would I be dead? Would others not be? Even the ones I seek to protect? Sometimes you have to kill to protect. And when we live with the consequences, we live with both good and bad. That's part of what strength is, living and atoning. That's why I have to protect you. But the key is accepting what we've done, the weight of it. That's the least atonement we can do. Never forget. "

Her heart couldn't help but be touched. Maybe he had found a solution for her, even if it wasn't the one she had sought. So that was where Kirito's power came from, from owning up to his mistakes and choosing to keep fighting to protect others. That was why he seemed so overprotective of her. Well, whilst it was unfair of him, it was kind of sweet, but if she was going to do the same they would have to protect each other. Certainly she could live for the sake of protecting him, his vulnerability hidden behind his own mask, a mask of purpose and confidence.

_You have given me hope again, a faint one but one worth everything, especially as my old one seems to be an illusion. I'll fight on, even if I now fight for you, like you do for others._

"Accept it?"

"Yes. Here and in the real world. There are consequences for any action in either place. We all wear masks like you do, Sinon, but never let yourself be a different person here Vs outside, in the end it's all the same world, so treat it as such. Escapism doesn't work - I know."

Then she would. Trying to forget had not helped her one bit in the end, so she would embrace it. Embrace Shino. Own her life rather than letting it dictate who she was.

_I am Asada Shino and I am in charge of my own destiny._

"Let's do it, then."

First they had to work out what Death Gun's plan was. So they went over what they knew.

Death Gun was an ex-member of a murder cult from a game where killing really happened. He was using this tournament to prove he had power over life in reality. But Kirito realized that he was using his pistol only to kill people, but his rifle in other combat. So he must need certain circumstances to actually murder, something his boss and he had thought was impossible to do directly through the actions of a game without some outside measures, like the NerveGear in SAO. 

Quickly they guessed that he was using his cloaking device to spy on real world details as players signed up for BoB, so that he could kill them in reality separate to but at the same time as in the game. Which meant he must be working with someone else, to do the killing in the real world.

Shino listened with admiration as Kirito strung the evidence together. She could see how he was working as an almost detective here, even if they were being forced to make a few assumptions. He thought they must be using some chemical poison based on the deaths so far.

He then posited that the killers must be breaking into players' homes, as most GGO veterans wouldn't have great security. Suddenly, face frozen, he paused.

"Sinon, what security does your home have".

She went to ice. She had a very old system, the kind someone could break into in the way Kirito was just now explaining was possible. And Death Gun had drawn his pistol on her, not Kirito. He was trying to kill her, which meant...

"Sinon, don't panic, but someone is in your house, ready to kill you."

How could she not panic?! Still, she didn't feel the recurrence of her helplessness, so that was one thing. And she wasn't dead yet, so there must be a way out. Nevertheless, she felt her heart rate shoot up, and the world narrow around her. Kirito touched her shoulder, affecting her heart in a different way but giving her some focus.

"It's ok. They are following some ritualistic rules, so unless he hits you with that gun, you should be safe, and their motive loses all purpose if they just kill you without the rules. But if you end the game too early and see the accomplice, they might have to silence you to protect themselves. So, it's obvious what we do. We keep playing. If we beat Death Gun here, I think they'll follow their own rules and leave your apartment before you wake up. So we have to win. Now, how do we do that?"

That much seemed obvious. He couldn't kill Kirito, not knowing where he was in reality, so Kirito would storm him, deflecting sniper shots with his sword, as a distraction, whilst Sinon following Kirito in her sights, worked out where Death Gun was shooting from, and sniped him from afar. Confidence coming back with this angel's help and the plan they had concocted, Shino took the time to tease him, reminding him they still needed to fight and not to die with Death Gun's first shot, and that he should follow his own advice to 'predict the prediction line', all while fondly touching his chest. She hadn't flirted much, but she wasn't sure how much more obvious she could be to show her interest - looks aside, this guy was clearly a good person whose very qualities seemed attractive, and she had a feeling that actually he was probably good looking in reality, it just seemed weird that he had such a feminine avatar. He opened his mouth to begin to say something, hopefully to respond to her flirting... 

Then they noticed the cameea drone hovering above them. 

_That means there aren't many of us left..._

Noticing that Kirito seemed a little on edge at the thought of the camera, she reassured him that nobody could hear their plan from this far out, and told him to wave. He seemed reluctant... so she teased/probed a little, implying that he might have a girlfriend he didn't want to see this footage, of a pretty girl lying on top of him.

Noticing their closeness again, he seemed shocked and a little shaken. 

_Maybe he does... I never thought about that, what a blow that would be. But then, it's probably better we stay friends - I wasn't lying to Kyouji when I said it was hard to imagine being in a relationship right now..._

Kirito still seemed a little off kilter from her comment but deflected by commenting how as he looked like a girl from afar, wasn't Sinon worried that people would think they were lesbians.

_Bold! I think I may have touched a nerve, sadly. Of course, his retort wasn't that far from the truth, it wouldn't make a difference if he were actually a girl at all._

She replied that if guys thought she were gay maybe they'd stop harassing her, which drew a smile from her partner. 

_Probably should have thought of that tactic before, to be honest. It might have been worth it._

Levity restored, Kirito went out to see what the scan showed- in this cave Shino wouldn't be picked up but also wouldn't be able to connect to see where the others were, but Death Gun would assume she was with Kirito.

He discovered that 6 players were not in the dead list, with only himself and Yamikaze showing up on the map. That left Shino, Death Gun and the disconnected (dead) Pale Rider and one other, maybe hiding, maybe murdered by Death Gun. Yamikaze would be heading for Kirito here. 

Shino spoke up: "As we are pretty certain that Death Gun's accomplice is at my house, Yamikaze should be safe, so can we use him as bait?" It was safer than using Kirito, as it left them two options to take out Death Gun. But Kirito seemed uneasy...

"Wait... If they killed Pale Rider and now are aiming to kill you, unless you both lived very close together in Tokyo, he'd need more accomplices. Laughing Coffin will have had a few SAO Survivors, so who knows how many there could be. Maybe another accomplice helped kill this missing player, then if there are more than one they could have had time to get to Yamikaze. We can't know he's safe, we can't risk his life!"

Plan B then. Kirito was the bait, Shino would take out whichever of the others she could first, to end this or save Yamikaze first, then they could work to take the last player out together. 

Things started out as planned. Shino watched, heart now still and calm by force of will as she channelled Sinon, tracking Kirito with her scope. He danced through a rain of fire from Yamikaze, making the bullet storm seem slow and clumsy, and, as predicted, Sterben, Death Gun, took the bait and fired a shot, right at Kirito's head. Time slowed for Shino, not ready to lose Kirito in this combat and be left alone. But somehow, sensing the shot by some instinct once again, Kirito twisted out of the way, untouched, Sterben's rough position now revealed. The missing bullet nearly hit Yamikaze and drove him into cover, but not covered from Shino. Knowing this was her moment to take him out of the game and keep him safe, she blew his head off. 

_One down. The bad one to go._

She span to target Sterben, knowing he could now see her bullet coming, as she could his. They were both lined up at each other, both ready for a perfect shot to the head. Unlike earlier, she felt no fear, only the fire of righteous anger and justice in her stomach, the pure detachment of a surgeon in her head and in her heart, a cold, immoveable sense of purpose, like a glacier. 

_Even if he hits me with the rifle, his accomplice might kill me. But I choose to fight, and to protect!_

They both fired. The bullets seemed to almost brush each other, and each managed to hit the other's rifle. But her shot had the more luck, or purpose, or whatever. Sterben destroyed her scope, leaving her much reduced as a threat. But she destroyed his sniper rifle. Meaning he would have to face Kirito-san. And justice.

_It's up to you now, Kirito._

Her dark haired friend (yes, he was a friend, no matter what now) took little time to storm down to where Sterben had shot from, knowing that he wasn't in danger of actual death at this time and that the Black Star handgun would be little use against his reflexes and photon blade. He stared down Death Gun like an Angel of Vengeance, of divine retribution, perfect heavenly cheekbones and flowing black locks contrasted by the flint of his glare. Then the killer opposite him surprised Shino by drawing his own blade, a short sword/dagger thing, and attacking. 

Both went at each other with, to Shino's untrained eye as far as swordplay was concerned, no little skill and absolutely no mercy. But as the battle went on it was clear that here, despite his lust to kill being counterbalanced by Kirito's will to defend, Sterben had the advantage, getting in more hits than his opponent, slowly cutting away at him. 

_He knows how this game works better, and he's seen Kirito fight before, both in the preliminaries and in their old game, and Kirito doesn't know which one from that game he is and how he fights. That's a big advantage. Plus at these close quarters that sword does more damage and is better balanced, and he's probably more used to using it than Kirito is a weapon he picked up for the first time yesterday..._

This fight wasn't over by a long shot, but Kirito was definitely behind, and they couldn't leave this up to luck. Plus, he seemed to be holding back, and the men fought as if they were talking at the same time ...

 _He's trying to work out who Sterben is in reality, so that his bosses can arrest him after this_. Shino should have seen it coming. _But it won't matter if he then kills Kirito and me. I need to do something._

She saw her chance. Something Kirito had said or done had distracted him, made him pause.

_Kirito knows who he is. Now we just need to get rid of him here._

Trusting her ability to get something on target without her scope, Shino took up her rifle and aimed. At this distance she wouldn't get a killing hit, not one he couldn't dodge. But that wasn't the point. Like Kirito had been the decoy earlier, her shot was now. A Phantom Bullet to draw Sterben's attention, whilst Kirito went for the kill. Sterben reacted to the prediction line he was now seeing, somewhere on his chest (even with her eyes, Shino couldn't tell more accurately than that), desperately falling back, and immediately, blessedly, Kirito read her intention, coming in from the other angle, blade swinging. For an instant, Death Gun flickered, his cloaking device coming into play, and Shino felt a second of panic that she had overplayed their hand, but quick-thinking Kirito remembered his side arm, shot once to neutralise the cloak and in a smooth motion followed through with his blade, carving their enemy in two with expert speed and precision, kicking away his gun and leaving him dying, and quickly dead, on the ground.

_We won. We actually won._

Shino, for all her experience in GGO, had never felt such a rush of joy, of accomplishment. 

_We faced death, I faced my fear, and I'm not magically healed but I feel strong. I know I can cope, here and anywhere. And I know, for a stone cold fact, that if I am struggling this man will lend me some of his strength or his comfort, and, just as he predicted, I would do the same for him._

That revelation shocked Shino, who had refused to be dependent here, had to learn not to be, but she knew that it wasn't the same if they both helped each other as and when they needed it. 

_Is this what friendship is? What I've been missing these past 5 years?  How did Kirito know I'd come and save him like he saved me?_

Full of these questions but also blissful relief and excitement at a future than didn't seem empty for once, she ran down to meet him in the wasteland below. He was smiling, sending warmth down her spine. 

 _Damn if he weren't so beautiful here, the inevitable disappointment of meeting him for real would be a lot less brutal_. That was a strange thought but she wouldn't try to bury it. She did like him, in that way. And whether he was interested romantically or not and whether she was ready would have to wait, but either way she was now determined to meet him and have another friend. _Now I need to get Kyouji and Kirito to stand each other's presence for long enough to realise they are both good people..._

She smiled back at him. She grinned further inside when Kirito suggested they exchange contact details and meet up in real life. She told her real name to a GGO gamer, aside from Kyouji, for the first time. Asada Shino. He was diving near her! They really could meet, and then she could start to have a life, plus she wouldn't mind working with him more in GGO - he was phenomenally and uniquely skilled, and the tactical possibilities of combining a swordsman who could deflect bullets with a sniper like her were incredible and untapped. His online name, like hers, was a derivation of his real name. Kirigaya Kazuto. Cute name, alliterative. He offered to check up on her once they logged out, after sending the police to check her apartment was ok. She said it wasn't necessary, as Kyouji would be close by, but he seemed torn in two minds, as if he still wanted to come. She didn't want to seem too keen but internally she screamed at him to come over. 

_Then you and Kyouji can meet and get along and I can have friends, plural._

First they had to finish up here. Kirito suggested a duel like before, but look at him. He was in a much worse state than she was after taking out Sterben. When she beat him, and she would, next tournament, it was going to be fair and square. Hmmm. She had an idea...

"In the first BoB tournament, the last two players were fighting, and one shot the other but before he could die he left a grenade as a parting gift, so they both died as joint winners. We beat Death Gun together, worked together this whole time, so it figures we should win together". With that, enjoying the realisation and panic that came into his eyes, she activated a grenade and, heart singing at the thought of embracing him, smile on her face as wide as she could remember it being, she hugged him tight with the grenade between them, feeling his strong arm and warm body.

 **Flash**.

They both died and both won. She had fulfilled her task, BoB champion. Joint champion. Kyouji would know too, and she couldn't wait to share the news that she had beaten, at least for today, her fear. She logged out, just a little after Kirito, who insisted on going first so he could alert the police 

Aware of the possibility that despite having time to get away, intruders might have stayed in her apartment anyway, she searched all over for potential threats. Nothing. Good. However, Kyouji was just outside the door...

_That was quick. Maybe we took longer to log out than it felt like..._

She let him in, excited to talk about what had happened, and they started to discuss the tournament. However, part way through, he tried to hug her.

_Woah... Right, I had forgotten about this. Well, I did say I'd give an answer after BoB, and I will, but he's not going to like it. I just don't have those sorts of feelings for him, and I definitely know what they feel like now. How do I let him down gently?_

He was babbling about being together now, confessing his "undying love". 

_This is too weird, and way too presumptive. He needs to back off._

Creeped out, she pushed him away, confused as to how he had gotten the idea that this was ok. Then saw his face, a crazed glazed look in his eyes. And put two plus two together.

_It **was** too short a time for him to get here after the tournament. So he must have been here all along, meaning..._

Crap. Her best friend was Death Gun's accomplice. Seemingly obsessed with her, ranting about love and how they'd be together forever. And in her apartment.

She obviously did not keep that discovery off of her face. His eyes narrowed, his smile widened into a cruel rictus and he drew a weird needle thing and lunged at her. 

She tried to fight him off but at close quarters he was bigger than her and driven by a mad strength. He pinned her down, helpless again, needle at her side, and leered over her. Her best friend. Betrayed her. Using her, lusting for her all this time, worse than the worst of the GGO men she hated. A killer.

He explained how he had created Death Gun as a revenge for its first victim misleading players like him about the best character class ( _What a petty start for a collapse like this_ ), then his brother who had been in SAO and a killer there helped him kill victims in real life whilst he did so on the game. Until this time, where his brother played online and he had been allowed, at his special request, to be the one to kill her. Shino. So they could be together forever in another life, like they would now. 

Shino fell deeper into despair with every word. She had just found strength and hope and had it taken away, by the weak position she found herself in now, a needle press from death, by the discovery that she had been abused and cheated by her only, she thought, friend. By the cruel timing. Gods, if he were that obsessed with her, might he rape her first? _Please, anything but that_. There seemed no point in fighting. The needle was on her skin, any resistance and she would die for certain. _Maybe it was worth it to avoid the rape? In the end though, did it matter?_

One small voice, maybe the remnant of Sinon with her here now, spoke up:

**_Kirito taught you to fight, to choose to fight, that that is where strength comes from. Even if it's in vain, we have to fight._ **

_Kirito. He had said that, as well as accepting all the consequences and the reality of your actions, and, he implied, the choice not to act. That had consequences too. Kirito. He sounded pretty set on coming here and checking on her, and not particularly trusting of Kyouji. If he comes now, my choices and my decision not to fight will have put him in danger. I said I'd fight and live to protect him. How could I forget that?!_

Fuelled with one more reason to survive, she focussed her strength as her ex-friend confessed how he had failed his exams and everything was falling apart. He had stolen succinylcholine from his father's hospital for the killings. He said that he had adored his brother for the strength he showed in killing people. That disgusted her. And then that he loved her because he heard she had killed. Loved her for her darkest hour, not understanding what it had meant for her one bit, had used that to manipulate her. That repulsed her. And so she struck back .

Rolling away from the needle, she kicked him off, biting his arm, and, filled with strength now fuelled by adrenaline, she ran for the door. She had latched it after letting Kyouji in, so she fumbled at the locks and managed to get it open just as he dragged her back and pinned her to the floor, ranting her name, slobbering over her, obvious what was on her mind. 

_I tried. I'll keep fighting, but in this position I'm doomed._

Just as she prepared to struggle in vain once more, she heard a familiar voice, slightly deeper pitch than she had been used to, but the same tone, the same courage within it.

"Sinon!"

Like a blur, a figure moved over her and slammed into Kyouji, its knee cracking into his face, splattering blood and sending him sprawling. 

"Run, Sinon!"

To her shock she recognized his face too. The hair was shorter, the jaw more masculine, but otherwise it was the same, a more male version of the fighter she knew.

Kirito. He had come for her.

He fought Kyouji, as her heart raced, now more scared for him than she had ever been for herself. He got in some good blows, gained her time, but Kyouji still fought with frenzy, ignoring punches and overpowering him. Pushing him to the ground, he took one chance and stabbed Kirito with his injector, right in the heart. 

_No! I can't lose him!_

Shino smashed her radio over Kyouji's skull, knocking him clean out. Then sobbed over Kirito, fluid on his chest from the stab wound, terrified she had lost both her friends in one event, lost a person she now cared about with all her heart.

Yet he seemed remarkably not dead. After undoing his shirt, ignoring for now his toned but slim torso, both of them looked in shock at the electrode that had protected him from the attack, the chemical splattered on top of it.

Fate, surely?

They checked that Kyouji wasn't dead and waited for police, whilst Kirito, who had called his employers ahead, apologised for being late and not saving her.

_Well, you did save me, just maybe less directly... And that doesn't make you one bit less attractive, especially when it's clear that your virtual face was in no way an exaggeration of your good looks..._

Exhausted, once the police arrived and did their job, Kirito left for home and Shino locked her door, bolted it and went to bed. But not before they exchanged numbers and planned a debrief for later in the week. In a few days, he would pick her up from school, they'd talk to his boss and take things from there.

She was very interested, though cautious, to see what "from there" ended up being. It was pretty hard not to fall for a beautiful face who saved your life and sanity several times. And Shino wasn't sure she had any inclination not to.

 


	8. Enter Player Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Player Three...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've now read the original Light Novel Phantom Bullet arc, so I apologise for any liberties I've taken regarding the exact things that Sinon felt, thought and said there, although I feel I actually got the basic ideas pretty well represented, just making her confused feelings for Kirito that blossom into unspoken attraction but also friendship less subtle and more skewed to the romantic side. I didn't know the novel was written from Shino's perspective, so sorry for repeating, albeit a bit different, what was already written.
> 
> Anyway, we meet Asuna here, and then the story will diverge a bit more: as a reminder, this IS going to be an Auna/Kirito/Shino three person relationship story. If I continue it long enough, we may how this affects other characters too, and may involve a retelling of Alicization one day.
> 
> If you've enjoyed my anime stuff so far (the two SAO stories, and the one Citrus one), please stick with me as at some point soon I'll be doing a GGO Alternative/SAO crew crossover (which will probably ship Karen/Elsa) and probably once I finish My Azalea, a sequel to my Citrus story. The SAO/GGO stories all exist within one alternate timeline - so at this point in Party Of Three, Second First Time has happened.

They had agreed that Kirito would pick Shino up from outside school on Friday to take her to the debrief with his boss, employer or whatever. Kirito made it clear that he had very mixed feelings towards Mr K, as he called him. In many ways he seemed like a good guy, apparently, but he tried too hard at it, and had a "weird, secretive vibe".

Anyway, that left Shino all week with a lot of anticipation, and a lot of thoughts and feelings she was finding hard to sort out, and a lot of time. She did drift into GGO a couple of times in the evening but she didn't really feel right doing a long stretch there, she was glad that she had been able to use the experience there to help herself to a degree, but she was still affected at the way that her refuge, her escape had become a nightmare where all her safety and strength became danger and death. She let the community there see that she was still about, accepting the congratulations she got from many strangers, whilst as usual brushing away their unsubtle advances, and shrugged her shoulders when they asked where her co-victor, the mysterious Kirito, was.

Relatively short on homework, and not allowed to visit her one other 'friend' (she still thought of him as that in a way, the old him before failure and spite had twisted it, under his murderous brother, into something monstrous. She was sure one day she could get through to him and fix him, but it looked like a long road.) yet, Shino, knowing roughly 'where' Kirito was, and 'who', wanted, greedily (she figured he had already revealed a lot more to her than he was used to) to delve some more into the 'what' and 'why'. Typing "Kirito, SAO" into a search engine hadn't been very helpful initially, but she had found some forum and information sites even on that unspoken game, and she expected that a player as obviously skilled as Kirito would be mentioned somewhere in passing. However, once she was on those sites, the reality surpassed her imagination.

" _Not much is openly spoken about SAO, much of what we know, even given our sources from the Game World itself, is unconfirmed or rumour. But one thing that is clear is that it is unlikely the game would have been finished even by now without a few choice names, chief amongst those along with the players Klein and Asuna, the Black Swordsman Kirito._ "

Shino devoured the information that came up next. He was one of the key players, along with those other names and Heathcliff, secretly the creator of SAO Kayaba himself, and the one who eventually ended the game by defeating Heathcliff when he deduced the latter's identity and accepted a duel to the death where the game ended and everyone was saved if he won. He died, alongside his ally Asuna, in that duel, but managed to kill Heathcliff with a parting blow, seemingly enough for him to survive (though the site said that was officially unconfirmed though likely). In doing so he had probably saved at least hundreds of lives. He was a key figure in clearing dungeons before that, starring as part of the frontline in the last 2 quarters of the campaign, and rumoured to be active in the early clearers in the first quarter, though mostly missing between those where he was said to have isolated himself and fought recklessly and in a seemingly dark place. He earned an early reputation as 'Beater', the Beta Tester and Cheater, that was belied by his actions and sources relatively close to him confided that they believed this was a ruse to defuse the tension towards Beta Testers as a whole and to take all the anger aimed at them early on against himself. He acted, again with Asuna, as a sort of policeman at various points. He had fought against Laughing Coffin (this bit she knew), the Murder Guild. He had lost a duel to Heathcliff, by a fine margin, and temporarily joined the Guild Knights of the Blood Oath as a result. He was reputed to be one of the strongest fighters, statistically and mentally, in the entire game, earning a unique skill due to his reflexes. He had defeated a high level boss single-handed...

The accomplishments went on. Shino could believe all of them, frankly, and felt her affection towards him grow and become tinged with something like awe again. 

_He's so strong. But still so kind, from these acts, and from how he tried to help me, once he understood me a bit better..._

She read on a bit further. It seemed that he had suffered some painful events - players suggested that in the middle of the game, he fought with almost a death wish and pushed himself away from any other players. She really felt for him - they were closer than she had even imagined, and if his pain were anything like hers, she thought it was beautiful the way he had fought through and then found and helped her. 

He was known to associate early on with only one player consistently - the aforementioned Asuna - and they had helped clear early floors, it was thought, but at some point fell out of speaking terms and when they later met in multi-player discussions and boss battles they were said to clash. However, this changed once more and by the end they were known to be close allies and friends, Asuna, in mysterious circumstances, known to sacrifice herself to help him win the battle against Heathcliff (so did she survive like Kirito or not?). " _Their interactions may even suggest a romantic relationship later on_." Shino felt a spike of unwanted jealousy and anxiety at that. 

_Obviously he's going to be a catch, I shouldn't be surprised if someone got there first, someone who went through so much with him first, I have no right to feel jealous. And I don't even know that I want anything past friendship with him yet! But the chance, the hope of it would be nice..._

Anyway, after SAO Kirito was rumoured to take part in ALO (Shino suspected this rumour to be true as well, given his Fantasy game comments and implication that he had played since SAO), and the appearance of a character with his name and a similar appearance, using similar swordsmanship and defeating top level players in combat, in ALO coincided (Shino bet there was no 'coincidence' at all there) with end of that game's original run which was also linked to the rescue of some SAO Survivors who had been, again allegedly, used in strange experiments on ALO's server. It was all farfetched, but Shino saw the pattern, was privy to the 3rd bit of it in GGO. 

_So... I was saved by a serial hero, it seems. Do I feel like that makes me more or less in danger of falling for him? I still have no idea. I guess seeing him on Friday will help._

That night, Shino couldn't help but dream of him though, brief fleeting fantasies where she was kissed and kissed back both his male body and his feminine avatar. In one involving the latter, they both actually started to undress and the body beneath was definitely female not just feminine. Shino woke up breathing hard before anything more could happen, just seeing Kirito's entirely unreal breasts before her body cut in. However, she realised she was damp down below, scratch that, when she actually checked she was very wet and tingling. The same started to happen the next night, after a distracted day at school, and she really felt the need to relieve some tension.

At first when she had hit puberty a couple of years ago, Shino had tried masturbating as a distraction from life, a way to imagine a better world, but it had, whilst relieving sexual tension, left her somewhat empty and unfulfilled. Real life was still there and still hurt. After that she hadn't thought sexually about boys or girls, and certainly none in her actual life, often at all, and then GGO came in as a surrogate, so it wasn't often that she pleasured herself (and that she saw more as an infrequent function she needed to fulfil to keep her body from being distracted than a pleasure) and hadn't been ever really. However, this time she felt an irresistible urge and far more emotional and mental connection with what she was doing. Thinking of his face, and kissing it, whether that was boy or girl hidden just like the body attached was in her image, she slipped down into her wet underwear, found her ready clitoris for the first time in months, and strummed it with a built up energy, quicker and quicker until she peaked and writhed, his name barely held out of her lips which issued a guttural cry instead. This time she definitely felt satisfied, but very odd - that was the first time she had climaxed thinking of a real person she knew and it seemed almost an assault by her to do that without him knowing about it.

In the weird position of feeling like she had done something dirty but also cleansed of a lot of her anxiety, Shino went to school the next morning. Friday morning.

_Well, I may not be sure what I want, but I don't want to look awful and drive him away from wanting me if there's a chance for something in the future. I'd better look cute then. Lucky I washed my hair the other day anyway..._

Shy Shino usually did not want to draw people's attention to her appearance, that was usually greeted with some form of bullying, so putting on just a little makeup was an unusual thing for her. Mama wasn't around at the moment, having a difficult spell that needed some professional help, the poor lady, so Shino had nobody to ask for luck before heading out of the house, feeling exposed in dressing up a bit.

And the changes to her eyeliner and her attitude, maybe, did gain her some extra attention. Sadly unwanted attention. On the way to school, just like she had done a few days ago before all this happened (it felt soooo long ago now, almost petty in comparison to Death Gun), Endou and her cronies ambushed her. Tried to harass her for money, bully her as per usual. Shino wasn't going to give in. Not just because she felt stronger now, but also because she really really couldn't afford it. Her father was dead and had left them very little (she reflected that this was probably another sadness of her life, but it had happened so long ago she barely even remembered him enough to miss, just missing the comfort of having a father at all to help her) and mother was unwell, physically and mentally frail, rarely out of one or another type of hospital and then reliant on Shino and not the other way around. Shino had some inherited money, some from the State, a little that Mama could come up with and some from assorted transient side jobs, but it was barely enough to make it by usually. 

Refusing to comply angered the girls though and Endou, who had once, before the shame of her crime came out, been her friend, pounced on what she knew her weakness was. She drew a gun on her. As expected, Shino went cold and her vision started to darken with fear... 

**_Choose to fight. Accept what happened._ **

That was her voice and Kirito's, together. And it gave her strength. Enough strength to break her paralysis, a mere trick of Shino's own mind ( _and this mind will stop betraying me now!_ ), snatch the gun from Endou, and, amazingly, fire the little pellet gun off at a can 20 metres away, the GGO practice and her sniper's skill meaning she hit it first time. All while calmly (all simulated calmness, but she was learning that this was the only kind that truly exists) explaining the features and model of the weapon to a shocked Endou. Bully to her heart, she ran away now that she had been confronted, leaving Shino yet again a little stronger.

_His lesson worked. There's been no magic fix, but I know I can do this, day by day. Thank you, Kirito. Thank you, Sinon._

She entered school.

 

Classes were dull. Shino was a top of the class student, who had often used work as a way to drown out the images in her mind, so a normal day wasn't a big test for her. Even literature, her favourite class, was just a distraction for what she knew was coming later. As usual, nobody wanted to talk to her at lunch. Nobody noticed her. Nobody here cared about her unless one of the meaner girls saw an opportunity for a snipe. But as she left school at the end of the day, suddenly she was aware that everyone **was** looking at her, the ground buzzing with energy and whispers and half-hidden pointing and glances.

She heard "cute boy", 'motorbike, so badass!", "handsome stranger", "cutie with a black eye" and "asking for Shino". Ah. She probably should have told him to pick her up somewhere less conspicuous and not literally right at the gates. And not on a motorbike! She didn't get a chance to answer the question, from a girl who hadn't spoken to her in 2 years, as to whether "that cool guy is, um, maybe your boyfriend? Or do you know if he's single?" before she saw him there. All in black leathers, next to a black motorbike ( _that's how he knew how to drive so well, I guess_ ), black hair long-ish for a boy but shorter than his GGO persona, small bruise on his left cheek making him seem more dangerous and 'badass' as they had said, and more masculine. Dark grey eyes latching on to her, making it very clear to everyone that she was the one he was interested in here. Face every single bit as pretty as his avatar. Shino guessed she should think of him as Kazuto now, but in her mind Kirito was still the name that sprang up. 

_I can't really blame him for having an avatar that looks like that, can I? It's literally his face with longer hair and a more dainty chin. Even the lush eyelashes are the same! I guess it just got translated over from his ALO account... he still should have told me he was a boy before I was half-clothed in front of him though. They all think he's my boyfriend... I probably should change that perception or it will get awkward, but it does feel nice. No scorn for me here today, just interest and some frank jealousy._

He welcomed her casually, as Sinon(!) but with a hug and warm, guileless smile that she felt melt her in... various places. She couldn't remember when she had last been happier to see someone, but after this stunt she still had to chide him. That hug wouldn't get rid of the dating rumours either. Though, maybe she should just let them grow for a bit...

"What were you thinking, coming here so conspicuously! Everyone is going to think we are a couple, they're already asking about it"

He looked genuinely taken aback, as if (and it probably hadn't, the idiot) that possible consequence had never occurred to him.

"Oh no, sorry, I don't want to damage your reputation (she inwardly snorted at that)! You better tell them I'm just a friend, shouldn't mislead people." Well, that came with a twinge of disappointment but currently it was undeniably true and it was definitely sensible. She did spot him stealing a look at her body though, and guessed she saw a bit of interest in his eyes which made her heart beat a touch faster, before he caught himself and met her eyes. "You, um, do look really nice though. Bit of a better situation for both of us than the last time!" He helped her put his spare helmet on, and then drove them off to their meeting. She was riding behind him, so there was really nowhere for her to hold onto other than Kirito himself. Taking this reasonable excuse, she hugged his chest, which was a bit skinny she reckoned, but still seemed fit and strong, and enjoyed his warmth as he deftly rode the bike with cat-like poise and balance. 

_I'd literally never thought about it before, except similarly when we took that buggy to get to the signup on time, but riding a motorbike is a really hot look on a person. The stylish clothes help._

Too soon, they were there, at a posh hotel downtown, where Mr Kikuoka (Kirito's Mr K) was waiting in a fancy restaurant. He treated them to drinks and what must be expensive food whilst they explained everything that had happened from their end, and he then explained what had been happening in the real world. Obviously Kyouji was caught, and so was his brother, whose SAO identity Kirito had worked out allowing the police to locate him. They had revealed how the older sibling had convinced and groomed Kyouji as his accomplice, provided a hit list of seven names (two of which were killed, for real, in BoB. Another, producing an unconscious shiver, was her own, Sinon. The others weren't in BoB, some part of a future plan) and one other accomplice, code-named Johnny Black, who had eluded the police so far. They spoke about how the plot had begun when Kyouji had felt betrayed by their first victim, XeXeeD (who misled other players about the best avatar types to use) and his murderer big brother acquired a stealth cloak. They devised the plot to use succinylcholine stolen by Kyouji from his father's hospital, to spy on address details as players logged into events and kill them in real life as a group of three, they killed the first two victims and had plotted to kill more in BoB with the attached publicity when they became infuriated that nobody believed what Death Gun was achieving with real life deaths. Mr Kikuoka went so far as to praise Shino for her bravery and as Kirito had said he seemed very kind and benevolent but with the feeling there was something deeper going on. She was given permission to visit and speak to Kyouji. 

Mr K seemed to think that both Shinkawa brothers had felt that their murder plot was just a game, which provoked Kirito to muse that Virtual Reality could make people feel like reality itself was a simulation, mute the consequences in both worlds. That this was the dark underside to emulating reality accurately, and when asked how he felt said that he left a bit of him in that other world. 

Shino didn't quite believe this. Not that Kirito was lying, but that he wasn't being consistent in how he put himself across here. When they had been discussing accepting what they did and how he responded to killing in SAO, he had been clear that he felt that actions in Virtual Reality reflected those outside it and the difference between the two was artificial, something she was beginning to agree with as she let her personas as Shino and Sinon merge and balance each other out. When she challenged him on this, agreeing with his earlier contestation and saying that the world she was in now felt like reality but the same could be said when she was in GGO, and even if this world were a simulation (she borrowed from Descartes and Berkeley here, thanks to her readings in metaphysics last year) it would be indistinguishable as an experience to their input-reliant brains, he just smiled, openly, and laughed. 

Infuriating man.

"You're right, Shino, listen to her and write that down Mr Kikuoka: it might be the most true thing any of us have said here!

"Don't make fun of me!"

But, despite the smile on his face, it seemed that he was being serious - the shadowy moons of his eyes shone with sincerity and Mr K seemed to agree at least. Along with her embarrassment at being so on edge (this having friends was a change, people actually wanting to be nice to her), she sensed that there was an edge of mockery in Kirito's words but it wasn't directed at her. Whether that was towards himself, acknowledging how he had gone back on his earlier statement, or at Kikuota, Shino was unsure.

Either way, Shino finished by confirming her belief that for Kyouji only GGO was the real world. He was unwell, clearly, and she was glad that Mr K had agreed to help her visit him. She'd known him for years, and he had once been such a sweet kid.

Their conversation ended with a sinister twist. Shoichi, the elder brother, had left a note for Kirito with Mr K after being questioned, one that K made sure Kirito was happy to hear. His face was bitter with apprehension, but, as usual, resolute. He nodded.

" _ **This isn't over. Some of us will find you again, Black Swordsman, you aren't safe. It's Showtime.**_ "

She had no idea what to make of the end, but the rest of it couldn't be reassuring for poor Kirito, especially with at least one Laughing Coffin member still on the loose. It was the final statement, the riddle, that caused the biggest reaction on his face though. Fear, tension, anger all blending into one.

_Some kind of inside joke?_

They bid Kikuota-san goodbye, and left. As they got ready to return on the bike, Kirito asked her what she thought of the man. She wasn't sure, and said so, agreeing with his assessment of the man as outwardly nice but with a sense of enigmatic danger.

"Yeah. Well, at least I know he's on our side for now. But I can't fully trust him"

"What does he actually do? You never said."

"Officially he's with the police, virtual reality division, and right now that checks out. He's attached to the Ministry on top of that though, and he knows stuff about other police departments that there's no way they would tell him without higher authority. Seems to have some overarching oversight, but more hands on experience than a mere government official. Plus I followed him back after my last meeting here."

That shocked her. He really must not trust him, or at least his inner motivations.

"He headed back to a military-affiliated compound that time. Research, but still. Based on all that, and the kind of VR stuff he's been investigating, I think he must be with the Japanese Self-Defence Force."

That was a bit scary. She asked why such a group would have a strong VR interest, and Kirito went into a few hypotheticals. Several were about guns, and he showed remarkable tact and delicacy in approaching that topic. Talking about them here seemed ok, but her heart filled with gratitude at his thoughtfulness. Then she remembered that she had never even thanked him, not for the talking that had helped her take these steps to fighting her past, his motivational speeches over all of BoB, saving her in BoB from Death Gun and herself, and then trying, seemingly a man who would make mistakes but not repeat them, to live up to his promise to fight her properly. She blushed when she brought this up, thanking him from the bottom of her heart, unable to say how his bravery had made her feel but worried that some of it came across in the tenderness in her voice, which was uncharacteristically hoarse now. He seemed a little uncomfortable at being thanked, seeing it as something anyone would do.

_If you believe that, you haven't met enough people, you giant, wonderful, naive sweetheart._

Then she thanked him for saving her again, from (though she didn't ay it explicitly) possible rape as well as death at her apartment the other night. This time he seemed completely thrown. 

"Ah, I mean I came and helped distract him, but you did all the rest. I never saved you, really, any of those times. I just gave a bit of help whilst you found the strength to save yourself".

She didn't know if he meant those words, innocently spoken, or if he again had learnt from a mistake and was set on letting her being in control of her own battles, giving her the autonomy she had made it clear she needed when he had tried to overprotect her in that cave and all her feelings came pouring out. It didn't matter. Either way, it made her flow with happiness within, fuelled her self-worth and, she had to be honest with herself now, made her think she might be coming to love him. Selfless even in accepting that thanks. She took in that angel's face again, wrought with worry now as he picked up the water welling in her eyes, and the flashbacks of her dream and then activity the night before swirled through her mind. She felt the blood rush to her face, and to other places, now very warm in her crotch. She really hoped that her bra was trustworthy enough not to betray her nipples now. _Better not let him hug me for a while._

Oh good, Kirito's defusing the situation by saying something... _Let's listen and just agree, just to change the topic._ However, what he actually said did not help to do that.

"Hey, Shino, now that we are finished here, would you do me the pleasure of coming with me for a drink somewhere?"

_Oh. Ok. WOW. Did not expect that. That sounds very like a date. What do I say? Half of me really, really wants to go, wants to take this wherever it goes, hell, to kiss him right now. But I don't think I'm ready to date, even if I'm sure this is the person that I can see myself dating (which I am). I should go. See what he says, does he want to be friends or more, and if it's more, and I hope it is, make it clear that I am VERY much interested but also very much not ready and could he please wait a few weeks? And then when I'm more secure in this new me, he can take me to dinner, to drinks, to bed..._

Aware that she probably was crimson now, Shino stuttered an affirmation, and hopped on the bike, spending the journey thinking through the best way to phrase what she wanted to say in her mind: that she wanted to be his girlfriend, she thought, but not quite yet. How could she get that across without driving him away, this first person she had ever had feelings for?

Before she could really get her jumbled thoughts into a cohesive explanation, they had stopped. Just outside a little cafe/bar type place. 'Dicey Cafe'. Ok, what kind of place was it inside, that would help her know what Kirito's intentions were. The surrounding area was a bit dingy but that meant very little at all with some of the trendier places around. He opened the door for her ( _polite friend or chivalrous date? This isn't helping!_ ) and the aroma of fresh coffee wafted out. Smells good, at least. Looks good as well, cozy. Nervous, she stepped in. 

The place seemed empty, except two customers at a table near the bar. Two customers who obviously recognised Kirito and berated him for being late (blaming him for the snacks they apparently had to eat whilst waiting). Two customers who were, from afar, seemingly pretty girls the same age as Kirito and herself.

_Ok, for better or worse, I misread this. This is not a date. Phew. That "let's have sex but not until I'm over my trauma" speech can wait a few days, yay. So... two girls, our age - is he introducing me to his friends? Friends would be good._

Despite their words, both looked warmly towards Kirito, and expectantly. Realising his error, he introduced her to them - both as Asada Shino and as Sinon from GGO.

Interesting... guess they are gamers too, then.

"Sinon, these are two of my old friends from SAO (yep, gamers. And, she guessed, deliberately selected friends. He had picked ones who might understand a bit of what she had been through just now, and introduced them in a way that implied that she could trust them and trust them to empathise. He really is sweet, and clever when he actually thinks). First, the swindling Blacksmith, Lisbeth, or Shinozaki Rika"

"Hey! Bastard!" The shorter haired girl looked affronted but Kirito was obviously teasing. He looked at her with fondness.

 

Then that fondness amplified as he turned to the other girl sitting there, and Shino's eyes widened as she stared at the most beautiful female she had ever seen. Stunning. Graceful. Nymph-like features, with big amber/hazel eyes and flowing braids of chestnut hair. For the second time ever, just like when she saw Kirito that first time days ago, her heart rose into her mouth and her pulse raced.

_She's gorgeous._

"And next the berserker healer, Yuuki Asuna, or Asuna online".

_Asuna. Rumoured girlfriend from SAO. Stirring the exact same feelings in her. Two beautiful people, and a good chance they were already together._

_Asuna. This just got complicated._


	9. Forgiving Yourself

Shino was in shock. Not just because the guy she was crushing on, had been panicking about how to respond to a misunderstood date proposition from, may well have just introduced her casually to his probable girlfriend ( _ok, Shino, you don't actually know that for sure... but it was a pretty widespread rumour whenever SAO came up online_ ). .She also had the double-hit of finding she was immediately and deeply sexually attracted to said girlfriend.

_Why?! Two people, two people you find yourself interested in and they are already involved with each other._

Completely oblivious to the turmoil inside her, Kirito, smiling, brought her across to the table with the two happy girls, all laughing off the faux outrage of Asuna's reply, which Shino hadn't really caught the detail of. She shook their hands, and despite everything found immediate comfort in their obvious openness and kindness. Kirito had introduced Shino as the 3rd Champion of BoB, which made her blush unused to such praise, and all this friendly attention, especially from a girl as beautiful and welcoming as Asuna (and the feisty, open Rika) made her feel even more out of her depth and flustered. She was already terrified inside at the thought of meeting new people at all, especially girls who might judge her, even if Kirito's choice of fellow gamers gave them some common ground. Luckily, whatever their relationship would be now, Kirito was there to help anchor her, as irreverent and compassionate as he had been throughout their trial together.

He then introduced her to the cafe owner, another SAO veteran called Andrew Mills, Agil in the game world, who interestingly was a Japanese fluent African-American living and working in Japan with his wife. She ordered (on the house! How kind) a ginger drink recommended by Rika, who seemed the kind of girl that it was easy to start a friendship with. The whole group of them, sipping delicious beverages kept topped up by the friendly owner himself, then discussed the details of what had happened in BoB. The girls obviously knew some of it from Kirito, but not in depth, and had been watching the broadcast footage, so could fill in Kirito and Shino about what had been happening elsewhere in the match. Throughout the discussion, Shino noted how comfortable the 3 of them were together, how all 3 tried to bring her into that comfort, and she felt it starting to work, even as a part of her held back, certain that any friendliness beyond acquaintance couldn't last once they knew more about her. She noticed Rika's brashness and clear admiration of Kirito and Asuna. Kirito impishness, the mischievousness that he had flashed at several times early on in GGO, often so quiet and laid back but with a roguish grin happy to make a sarcastic remark or a teasing jibe at any of the three of them. She was glad that he included her in that, even if that casual approach still threw her off balance. And she noticed the serene, pure dignity and composure that Asuna embodied, to be startlingly broken with outbursts of emotion, all over a genuine core of warmth and inclusion.

Through this, discovering interesting information about both the tournament and Kirito himself (he shared a house in ALO with Asuna, which made it more likely they were together, and several other friends' names were mentioned as well as what she assumed was the online persona of Mr Kikuota), and tried to work out, as she answered their questions (much less formal and tiring than Kikuota's had been), whether Kirito and Asuna were in a relationship or free. She strongly suspected the former by now. This was Japan where everyone was proper, so it was no wonder that Kirito hadn't introduced Asuna as his girlfriend, but they were extremely close and in sync, smiling at each other constantly and she thought she saw them brush hands in a way that they simply wouldn't have done as friends: body contact, yes, especially as Kirito had made it very clear he had no boundaries regarding that! But caresses like that implied intimacy, even if they were subtle. Once they got to the part of the story where Kirito and Death Gun duelled, it was all but confirmed. Asuna had run to the hospital where Kirito was diving to be by his side (one), and happened to discover there from the nurse watching him that the character name Sterben referred to the German word for Death (so there was a word clue - she just knew the wrong language!) before holding Kirito's hand (that was the clincher) which he felt in game and had reminded him to use his pistol. 

_Oh well. No need to get upset about it. I wasn't sure how ready I was anyway, it's just gutting to lose the possibility of being with the two people that I'm actually physically attracted to and have met. And who both seem delightful. Perfect for each other really, I imagine their children will be stunning. At the moment, friendship seems enough for me._

Ah. Friendship. Kirito was happy enough to be friends with her, because he was tainted like she was, by death and by shared experience. _These friends of his would understand a lot, as SAO Survivors, but surely they wouldn't associate with a murderer?_  (A very small voice reminded her that they were friends with Kirito himself, and probably at least Asuna knew he had killed too, but the rest of her mind blotted that out, too used to the ease with which her peers and ex-friends seemed keen to reject her bloodied hands).

As a distraction, Shino openly mused on why Death Gun had picked the German word for dying, to be reminded not to focus too much on online name's meanings by the friendly Asuna "You look too hard to find it and you'll lose a whole lot more!". Drawn back to look at her, Shino couldn't help but be moved by the sheer clarity of her now honey eyes, portals into the sweetness that clearly resided in Asuna's soul. Cheekbones as perfect and feminine as Kirito's, delicate mouth, flawless smooth skin... Shino sighed a little. Anything below the face was hidden by the shared uniform Rika, Asuna and Kirito wore, Asuna's very properly keeping her blazer on whilst the other girl had stripped to a pink jumper and Kirito, unsurprisingly, wore his shirt undone underneath his biking jacket. She could tell that Asuna was tall, as tall as Kirito, and willowy but the swell beneath the blazer hinted at fully blossomed, sizeable breasts bigger than Shino's, which she really wouldn't mind sneaking a peek at.

_Come on, that's an inappropriate thought... an hour ago or less I was barely able to speak out of nervousness meeting these people and now I'm checking her out like a lecher?_

Anyway, all 3 of them (though not really Mr Mills) were very slight and slender, almost fairy-like in build, which for Asuna and Kirito with their bright eyes and glowing skin made them seem otherworldly, ethereal. Angelic. She had to remind herself that they had been only a year ago been trapped wasting away in SAO, their poor bodies were probably still very frail from that. She wouldn't mind seeing Kirito (looking was free, no matter who he was with) with a bit more muscle on him, but she couldn't blame him for his feminine figure right now, and it rather suited him so she didn't mind it too much.

Rika dragged Shino's attention back to the conversation, away from the graceful Asuna, by snarking on how ironic it was for Asuna, whose online name was basically her name, to talk about meanings at the such. The two broke out into playful fighting that Shino was a little envious of, then startled as they remembered they were in company. As she understood more about the obvious deep, romantic bond that Kirito and Asuna shared, she felt more uneasy about what it must have looked like when they had been embracing each other closely in that cave in BoB. Stuttering, not helped by Kirito stuttering too, she explained that it must have looked bad, beseeching Asuna's understanding and forgiveness with her eyes, but Kirito had just been comforting Sinon after a hard time and had really helped her with his talking and gentle touch. Kirito added that they had been being chased by a killer at the time as well. Asuna just smiled, not a fraction of upset or jealousy in her eyes, but to Shino's surprise Rika was the one who spoke up first.

"Well, we'll trust you for now, but be careful in future!"

_Interesting. He and Asuna are definitely the item, but Rika likes him too. If I'm too obvious with how I feel, I could really upset some people here._

Asuna took a very different approach, every compassionate word making Shino, against her better judgement, fall for her a little more at a time.

"There is nothing to forgive at all, he was just doing a kind thing. The only forgiveness that matters really is that you forgive yourself".

She smiled and held Rika's hand, giving her a meaning-laden look, which made the short haired girl double-take and settle down, now also smiling. _They are best friends - maybe that's another reason Rika seemed more upset, she's protective of her friend's relationship as well as a bit jealous of it._ Both expressed how happy they were to meet another female VRMMO player (Shino shared that happiness!). Asuna smiled through her bright eyes as she added:

"Please be our friend, Asada-san!" Nothing but genuine joy in her tone, hand outstretched.

Shino wanted nothing more, filled with yearning desire for friendship with both of them, all of them, especially this one. But her old 'friend', her anxiety, built up in her chest, tightening, strangling her. Stabbing her now with sharp pain. She had lost so many friends, the passive betrayals of those who shunned her after she defended herself and took that life, and then the premeditated treason of poor broken Kyouji days ago.

_I want to be her friend, to take her hand now and in the future, so much. But she'll find out that the hand is bloodstained, and then the loss will be more painful than never having the thing in the first place._

She was taking too long. Asuna would get annoyed with her. Everyone would hate her. She was scared to touch her, taint her with her murderer's hands. 

 _I am not as healed as I had hoped_ , a tiny voice sadly spoke inside her.

Curling up inside herself, hanging onto the gratitude that at least this wonderful elf had wanted to be her friend even if she could accept, Shino prepared to apologise, dying a little with the knowledge that the fun afternoon was over. Then he spoke. Kirito. Voice so sad, breaking with emotion for her.

"Shino..." He was her friend. He knew. At least she had one person here. She looked at him, at the sky in his eyes, filled with compassion. He gave a tiny nod and flicked those eyes towards Asuna, her face still hopeful but also tinged with sadness. With understanding. His eyes said "It's ok, trust me, trust her". 

It was hard. But she did. To trust was to fight, and she had promised herself that she would fight, even if it was fighting herself, her fear. She hesitantly took Asuna's outstretched, lily hand, and Asuna held her in a firm grip like a mother supporting her child. Shino felt Asuna's warmth, literal and figurative, and felt her soul calm and move again for the wonderful spirits around her, Asuna and Kirito together.

Patient, but determined, once Shino looked back at her Asuna went on.

"We invited you here for a reason. We have someone you need to meet. It may make you cross or upset, but it's important"

_Another person? What was this, a trap?!_

She prepared to pull away, but Kirito touched her gently on the arm. 

"Wait. You can hate me if you like, but please know that I have to apologise to you". She froze, tensing up more than even before, at the nervousness in his voice ( _what has he done?_ ), "I needed Lisbeth and Asuna's help. So I told them what you told me, about your past".

What?! NO. They will hate me. I can't stand it. Can't stand another loss.

She tried to pull away, anchored by the firm, kind grip of Asuna, whose eyes now shone with sorrowful empathy.

"We skipped school and went together to your old home town..."

"Why?!" Shino pulled away now and started to stand, panic setting in, reminded of that awful place she had fled and that awful day.

_Accept it, Sinon, you can't forget it. Take the first atonement._

"We went to the shop that the robbery happened in and we searched all the records and found someone you need to meet".

Not understanding, Shino turned around, unsure whether to trust her new friend had some reason for letting out her darkest secret or to cry at yet another betrayal, her whole body torn, shaking. And behind her, ushered in by Rika, were two new people. A woman in her thirties and a little girl who could only be 4 or 5.

Who...

As her new friends calmed her down and sat her down, they explained everything. The woman was the woman whose life she had saved at that robbery, threatened with that gun. 

She remembered words, spoken in a cave:  " _We cannot ignore what we have done, but look to atone for our actions. They have consequences, both good and bad. Sometimes you have to kill to protect. And when we live with the consequences, we live with both good and bad."_

The woman, Sachie, broke down into tears and apologised for not making contact sooner, thanked her for saving her life, that she wouldn't be here without her.

_I saved her. I took a life but I saved another, my actions had good consequences too._

Then the little girl, Mizue, handed her a picture of her family, herself and both parents, with 'big sister Shino' drawn beside them, all smiling, all drawn in crayon. This girl, she was told, had been unborn in her mother's (in Sachie's) uterus.

 _I saved them both. I'm not just a killer, but something good as well_. 

"Shino..." Kirito's voice was hoarse with emotion now, his own hand trembling, Asuna's face there too, eyes shimmering with tears of mixed pain and gladness, her holding both her lover's hand and Shino's own. "We thought you needed, you deserved the chance to see all the consequences of your actions. The bad ones for the dead man and yourself, yourself that you are so hard on all the time, but you needed to see the good ones. This girl, this happy family, alive because of you, your bravery when you were a child as well."

The pain was gone, what was left inside her now was complex, and burning, but sweet. Sheer relief, rawness, release from self-hatred, and happiness and sadness all mixed in one. And love, yes love, for the kindness of these strangers, the man whose cafe they sat in, the short haired girl who had helped find these redeeming face for no gain of her own, for the woman and child here beside her offering her redemption and hope that she wasn't just a murderer. And for the unbelievable, glorious selflessness and considerate kindness, the tenderness of the two humans holding her hands now. Kirito and Asuna. _I love them. If they will only love me as a friend, that's plenty for me, but I **love** them. I can never repay what they have done for me._

On the brink of crying, Shino then heard the sweet, smiling little Mizue, as she bowed, in practiced tones saying "“Shino onee-san, thank you for saving mama and Mizue.”

And she wept, blinded with glad tears, tears of love and liberation, sobbing loudly as she hugged them all, and crying, happy, all the harder at Kirito's final words.

"You deserved the chance to forgive yourself. You have the right to forgive yourself. We all do"


	10. Think Of Me, Always

The next few weeks were the best of Shino's life. Despite denying she had a beau time after time, Kirito's appearance at her school had sparked an interest in the other girls there, some interested in this new confident Shino, wanting to talk to her again even if about menial things, and some seemingly envious of her male interest. Outside of that, her mother was apparently improving, she had a very part time job that was helping ends meet and her schoolwork was going great with her growing confidence and her old bookishness meeting to make any assignments seem easy.

The best of it was her new social life though. Asuna and Kirito had opened their whole circle of friends to her, and after creating an ALO account, she met all of them both online and in real life. They welcomed her easily, a group of friends who had been forged together by VRMMOs and who trusted the judgement of their two ringleaders unquestioningly. She already knew Rika/Lisbeth, who was as warm and protective of other girls as she was brash and jealous of anyone looking at Kirito with interested eyes - she had an obvious crush on him and a rock solid friendship with Asuna, and saw it her right and duty to keep anyone else away. In ALO, as she had apparently been in SAO, she was a warhammer wielder, a power based warrior Leprechaun, but also the group's weapons forging Blacksmith, and excellent at that. Also obviously pining for Kirito was another SAO Survivor, attending the same school, Ayano Keiko called Silica. She was a cute little thing, mousy brown hair in pigtails in reality and ALO, where she played as a Cait Sith and acted mostly as a healer and Beast Tamer. She was generous and cheerful and shy, several years younger than most of the gang except Kirito's sister.

She met with these two a few times after schooldays, always with Asuna and Kirito there, and enjoyed the opportunity to talk about girl things (Kirito phased out and didn't seem to mind) especially fashion. That had been missing from her life, and the dynamic of interacting with the older Rika and younger Keiko was interesting.

Also from SAO was Agil, Andrew Mills, whose cafe she had met Asuna at, a muscle strapped adult man but lovely and cuddly underneath, hidden below a stern but transparent facade. He was an axe-using, high strength and resilience Gnome Fighter, the 'Tank' of the unit. She did go back to his cafe, always welcoming and selling the best cakes in the city, as far as she was concerned. Then there was Klein, the last person from that Death Game, called Tsuboi Ryoutarou in the real world, who was about 10 years older than them, often busy working but still frequently online. A bit of a pervert, he had asked her out immediately upon meeting her, apparently not a unique honour for her, but then had never done anything else close to harassment once she had firmly said no, and explained she was 16. Used to taking rejections with dignity, poor Klein was obviously jealous of Kirito's passive ability to attract any female in the vicinity, with his enigmatic variation between mischief and stoic reserve. He was an all-weapons based Salamander, using a katana like a samurai. She had only seen him in the flesh once.

That left, aside from her two new best friends, Kirito's little sister (she was, what, 15? Not that much younger than Shino as Kirito was a year older), Suguha, who went by Leafa on ALO. A Sylph who blended swordshord attacks with blinding speed and healing and augmentation magic, she specialised in aerial assaults, and was apparently a kendo champion in the outside world. Her avatar was blonde and busty, and Shino was sure she would be the opposite in reality. She was half right - the girl was as dark as Kirito in terms of hair and twilight eyes, but very well endowed. She was also lovely, energetic and stood up for herself, doting on her big brother but sharing his instincts to tease and she did that to him mercilessly. With good looks similar to him, Shino briefly hoped (without real expectation of requital, as she had no reason to think Suguha was gay) that she might be able to divert her feelings for him onto his sister, who physically was her type,in so far that she had ever developed one: Her breasts, in the innocent glances she had had of them, not that she had been leering, were orbs of sheer magnificence, jiggling as she moved, her body was toned and athletic (apparently Kirito had been a lot more athletic once too, before the SAO coma) and obviously Shino liked her face. But it wouldn't work - she couldn't feel that spark, see her as anything other than a sister or a love interest's sister. Shame, that might have been easier.

Suguha she saw a fair bit of in the real world, as she often spent time with her big brother, and she fast became one of Shino's favourite people, behind the next two. The maple eyes and flowing hair of Yuuki Asuna, and dark haired Kirito. Both with fine features as if carved from marble, the gorgeous Sun and Night Sky in their eyes, effortless grace and the pure kindness of their hearts, proven to Shino by how out of their way both had gone to help her take her steps to recovery, finding people who could prove to her that she wasn't just a murderer, teaching her strength, offering her a hand to hold.

She spent a lot of time with them together in Agil's cafe and parks around town, never feeling like a third wheel despite their open affection for each other, and time with them and the whole crew online. Shino herself enjoyed ALO, where Asuna was a half-swordswoman, half-healer Undine who mirrored her beautiful real face and shapely, perfect body in every way except with pointed elfin ears, and blue eyes and hair, and Kirito was his real life self but with his faery ears, playing a shadowy Spriggan swordsman. They were joined by their online "child", an AI called Yui who appeared as a young Pixie girl, and acted like a hugely intelligent but innocent 8 year old, apparently adopted by the two of them in SAO and somehow transferred across here. She learnt they had gone so far as to marry in SAO. As much as she felt for both of them, wishing she could be with either of them, she loved them together too much and respected both far too much to ever make a move. If she couldn't be made love to by either, she would settle for loving and supporting them both.

Shino stayed as Sinon in ALO, splitting her online time in half here and on GGO where she felt secure once more, and had started training to win the next BoB outright this time. Everyone treated her there with awe now, so the anonymity of ALO as a newbie was quite refreshing, and she enjoyed the choice she had between being the lone wolf in GGO, where she occasionally saw Kirito when he popped in to see her specifically but none of the rest of her friends had tried that world yet, and part of a team in ALO. She chose the Cait Sith race, and made herself an archer, something basically nobody else in this game seemed to play as. Lisbeth forged her a specially made, top level bow, and she found to her pleasure that her GGO stats copied across and though the weapon was very different, the gameplay mechanism for aiming and firing was transferrable. She was thus exceptionally accurate, and though she missed sniping from 1000m away, the tactics for her remained similar - nobody could see her arrows coming and she never missed, with nobody prepared for an archer here really. Her looks were very similar to her GGO avatar, just with the added Cait ears and tail, which were cute.

She took part in a few quests and campaigns on ALO, and found to her pleasure that sniping on GGO had left her a very good player here. She did a few solo missions as well, and just hung out in Asuna and Kirito's cabin with her new friends. On GGO she did some hard training, solo work to keep her combat skills up, and the odd short period of working with Kirito. The sniper/sword combo was one that other players and AI enemies found impossible to handle, like her archer in ALO they simply hadn't the experience of knowing what might work against it.

This all continued for several blissful weeks, just enjoying the company around her, feeling comfortable with other people once again, step by step, and relishing the time spent with the two people she admitted to herself she was in love with. A few weeks in, Kirito invited her on a special mission, one that Agil couldn't make it for but would be the rest of the gang together.

They were heading after the game's strongest sword, Excalibur ( _weird how sometimes in Arthurian Legend it's called that and sometimes it's Caliburn..._ ). It was hidden, they found after a few false starts, at the end of a secret dungeon, one that a special NPC revealed to their group after they spared the lives of some weird elephant creatures that Suguha felt close to, whilst every other player followed a false quest set by evil NPCs. 

_This level of AI evolution is getting weird._

Apparently if they failed, ALO might be destroyed. She had no idea whether that was a narrative ploy or something that could actually happen, but Yui and the others seemed convinced. _Well, I'll help as far as I can, I'm here for the ride and because I love my friends..._

The actual quest itself was tough, but their group dealt with it easily enough. Kirito and Asuna had been the best players in SAO and might well be the best players here as well, Lisbeth and Silica were experienced support fighters, Suguha had been a top ALO player through its entire early stages and was one of the fastest players in the game, Klein was another top SAO player who worked fantastically in a team, and Shino, well she was a unique unit here with the perfect accuracy to support with arrows from afar. However, they found a challenge at the top of the second floor - 2 minotaurs, one impervious to physical attacks and one to magic defended by the first. Their team had no offensive magic, but in the end, led by the magnificent stringing together of attacks by Kirito, they used "Sword Skills" which count as magic apparently to wear the first down. They then cruised through some other bosses, found an NPC and, despite them all telling him it was a clear trap, rescuing her on Klein's insistence (even AI NPCs weren't safe from Klein's attentions, she thought wryly). In the end, that was a good move, as she, to Klein's horror, ended up turning into Thor (Norse God of Thunder, she remembered from Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology) when they gave it a magic hammer, and was necessary to beat the final Frost Giant boss just in time to stop the deadline they had been given to 'save the World Tree'. 

Anyway. It seemed they had succeeded, and Shino had had a good time, everyone seemed content... except the dungeon they were in, at the bottom roots of the World Tree, was falling apart, and the sword they had come to claim, Excalibur, was too heavy for them to take on their weird elephant monster ride home, and couldn't yet, for whatever reason, be stored in Kirito's inventory...

_Huh. Well, that will make Kirito sad, this was his entire reason to bring me here in the first place. They had let the blade fall, sadly, and it was still falling. Nearly 200m away... which is about my range with this bow... but compared to my GGO snipes, it's an easy shot._

Inspiration striking, she fired an arrow, magically treated to stick to armour - or she guessed any metal. She hoped. She only had one chance, but let's be honest, she only needed one. Magic arrow sticking to the blade, she then used her Arrow Retrieval skill, returning the arrow... and the sword.

Pleased she had been useful to her new friends, she turned to them, blade in hand, smiling. Every single face on their ride was gawping, stunned at her shot. Even Kirito, who should know better. Well, she would show him now, tease him a bit like he always did to her.

"Here's your sword, Kirito. Please have it, on one condition only - that you think of me every time you wield it!"

She had said that half-flirting, half-teasing, knowing that it would draw a reaction from his jealous harem of admirers, so she gave him a wink as she said it, to let him know it was a joke, and one he deserved given his usual impish comments. He was pleasingly flustered and sweating, whether because the innuendo in what she said had had an effect (she wasn't sure about that - it would be nice to make him think of her, but she didn't want to interfere in his relationship) or because he was worried about the backlash from his admirers she wasn't sure. 

She turned to the other members to see what reaction her outrageous jab had drawn. Predictably and amusingly, Lisbeth was indignant, almost angry, and Silica gave a stony-faced deathstare. _Silly girls, being jealous over a man you can't have. That's mostly why I said it, to give you some perspective._ They even got upset sometimes when Asuna and Kirito showed each other too much affection in ALO - how ridiculous! They were lovers, in love, you couldn't expect them to be restrained all the time just because other people fancied one of them. _I would never expect them to, I love seeing them hold each other's hand, to bask in their pure love._

Leafa looked cross as well, but that she supposed was because she was protective of her brother. H _mm. Maybe if I upset her then I went too far. But it was worth it for the look on Kirito's face_. Now Klein was making a comment about how hard it must be for Kirito to be such a lady-magnet, tongue in cheek, but riling the off-kilter Spriggan, who looked ready to hit him. _All in all, rather amusing_.

Then she saw Asuna's face, and regretted everything. No glare, no anger, just a moment of sorrow in her eyes and a brief frown that broke through her delicate serenity. _Why did I do that? How could I hurt Asuna?_ Asuna recovered quickly, but it was obvious that she had been hurt. She, typical of her generous heart, defused the situation with a tinkling laugh, and changed the topic, and everyone returned back to the cabin as friendly as ever, but Shino felt a building, hollow guilt inside her gut through the rest of the journey. 

 _I have to apologise, to her. And to explain myself. And, I think, I have to be honest with myself and Asuna._ That thought terrified her, but Kirito had taught her to accept what was true and to choose to fight. To fight her fear of rejection as a friend. Being honest was more important here.

_I am going to tell her how I feel about Kirito, letting her know that I will never act on it, that I love her too much to do so. And then, maybe worse, I will tell her how I feel about her, not to get anything back in return, but so that our friendship doesn't exist on an untrue foundation. And gods, if you exist, if that was you sending me Kirito when I needed a friend and needed strength, and sending me Asuna to help me rediscover what community and support were, if you are listening, please I beg you to let me get through this with my heart not broken._

 


	11. Hope Buds

 

They all celebrated the successful quest with a delicious, Asuna-cooked feast at the cabin on Level 22, the hostess glowing with pleasure as she expressed her culinary talents. The sense of camaraderie was still new to Shino, still a little alien but she was fast growing accustomed to it. She rarely spoke up in situations with this many people, but she liked to sit back and drink in the banter the others fired at each other, the atmosphere of trust and companionship, and the feeling that she was safe here, safe to be who she was including being introverted and not needing to be a hardass like GGO sometimes required. She rarely felt the need to talk in these gatherings but that didn't mean she didn't love the company - that was a thing many people misconstrued about introverts.

She had initially assumed that being gamers most of the rest of the gang would be socially retiring like her, tired by small talk and preferring to say what she had to say in more intimate interactions. She was wrong though. Lisbeth and Klein were very outgoing and fed off each other, and though Silica was shy she was still an extrovert, energised by crowds rather than tired by them. Leafa was harder to read - she sometimes liked to be involved and sociable but sometimes preferred to let others take the lead. 

Though not at all lacking in confidence, Kirito and Asuna were introverts like her. Kirito sometimes belied this with his flippant remarks, but he actually spent most the time listening, not talking, and though in terms of manners he wasn't reserved at all, he was pretty protective of his inner thoughts and feelings, until he came out with some philosophical monologue. Then once he started, he went on and on, just needing a subject that truly interested him. It was a cute quirk. Asuna was reserved but actively sought to be interested and friendly, even though she didn't actually do a lot of the talking in the conversations she encouraged, her warmth inspiring others by its presence - a catalyst for others to socialise. 

They were all wonderful people. Kirito hadn't told them, apart from Asuna and Lisbeth, about her secret, but had said that she had one and it was very personal to her, and told her that he promised that when she was ready to tell them, they would listen and understand - they knew he had killed 3 people anyway. She was so grateful to him for that, and knew one day she would be ready to share with these people, who knew she was hiding something but still welcomed her. Not today, but soon.

Shino was especially quiet this time, very happy but also wondering how she would be able to say what she had to say to Asuna. Luckily one by one people started to leave, eventually leaving herself, the beautiful couple and Suguha. She helped clean up, enjoying some talk with Suguha about their favourite books (the other girl had great taste, it was a shame she couldn't fancy her really - but she suspected they would become best friends), before she had to go for an actual meal with her parents. That meant Kirito had to leave too, with some of the tidying left over. This was her chance. Saying goodbye to the Kirigaya siblings, hugging them both harder than they expected and sending a mental _sorry_ towards Kazuto, Shino felt more aware of her heart beat, a little quick now, than ever before. She felt nauseous. This was going to be hard.

Once they were alone, she left things a few minutes, listening to Asuna's tuneful humming as they put away dishes, before finally speaking up.

"Um, Asuna-san, can I please talk to you?" The serious tone in her voice immediately arrested Asuna, who looked up and whose face shifted to an open, caring expression of alarm, obviously seeing Shino's distress.

"Of course, Sinon, any time. What's wrong, sweetheart?" The kindness in her voice almost pushed Shino over the edge, she felt tears begin to form in her eyes and knew she had to speak fast or she would forever lose the courage she had built up.

"Please, please don't hate, but I have something to confess." Deep breath. "I respect you both way too much to ever act on it, and your relationship, and I'll never do anything I swear but I have feelings for your boyfriend, deep, romantic ones, and I have done for a while. I'm sorry. I know he's yours. And I'm sorry that I let some slip through and made that comment about the sword earlier, it was really inappropriate and I should have realised it would upset you before I saw your sad face." 

On the verge of crying, rainbow in her vision, she glanced up, terrified of what she might see in Asuna's eyes, but knowing she had had to speak up. But there was only softness, not quite pity but a similar compassion there.

"Oh, Shino... is that all?" _What_? "I already knew that, you've been very reserved and thoughtful about it but I could tell from the start. That's ok. It's not like you're the only one, is it? Silica and Lisbeth haven't come out and told me but it's pretty obvious from them too, and it's not like I can't understand why: I fell in love with Kirito-kun, I can understand why anyone else would and you cannot help how you feel."

She touched Shino's hand gently, unaware of the sparks that send down her body.

"But you can control how you act on feelings, and it was very brave and very decent of you to tell me, you know? I don't and I will never hate you, ever. And if it is in my power to make you happy despite your feelings, I will."

Overwhelmed by her generosity of spirit, tears were now leaking from Shino's eyes. "Can we still be friends?" "Yes, absolutely. And with Kirito - it's not like he isn't used to it! As for your comment earlier, I wasn't upset for me. I thought it was a bit mean to poke fun at the other girls, and a bit unfair on Kirito, but I looked upset be _cause I was sad for you. You deserve someone to think of you always, it's not fair that the only person you want to do that is Kirito-kun."_

 _Yes... the only person, right..._ Shino was flushed now. _At least Asuna hadn't worked out that I like her as well... yet. That part might be even harder - she might feel weird being he object of a girl's affection._ Shino didn't even know how Asuna felt about Sapphism- _She might not understand it..._  

Asuna hadn't finished, and was kindly holding her hands. 

"Plus unlike the other two, you might have had a chance in another life... maybe not as much as he likes me, but Kirito likes you" _**What**_?! "Don't gawk! He does. He even told me - you have to be honest about things like that. He sees himself in you, of course, which is why he felt such a connection in GGO, but I'm pretty sure he sees some of me in you. I get it. I see him and myself in you a bit as well. Talking with you reminds me a bit of talking with him when we first met up, at the start of SAO. He was so withdrawn most of the time then as well, only we could bring expression out in each other. Well, maybe you are a bit more shy than we were... but yeah, if I didn't exist and he had found you I think he would want to date you".

Mouth no longer hanging open, Shino still felt stunned, washed over with ice water. 

"You think your boyfriend, who I've admitted I have a crush on, has feelings for me, might have been with me in another life, and not only did you just comfort and reassure me but you then told me all this?! How are you so nice? Are you an actual angel, or do you just look like one?"

She just smiled. "Hey, I'm secure. I know how Kirito feels about you, but I know how he feels about me. I've got no concerns about our love, and I'm not going to refuse to share something you deserve to know when you've been honest with me, especially if it helps your self-esteem. Remember this, maybe not in the way you want deep inside, but Kirito loves you, and I love you, we know you've been through so much, and I will be there for you. Plus, I trust Kirito-kun entirely, with my whole heart. And I trust you too, Shino."

_I have to tell her now. I can't leave any secrets from someone so trusting, whom I love so much._

"I haven't told you everything." These words were harder to say, coming from her dry mouth like spluttered sawdust. Now Asuna looked concerned again, and for the first time a little hurt. "I don't just like Kirito... I have the same feelings for you, too. I love you, Asuna, but not just as a friend. I like girls, and, um I..." The shock that had flooded across it was now gone from Asuna's face and again there was that all-loving, wonderful smile.

"Wow, I didn't see that coming! It's, ah, ok, Shino. I just wasn't expecting it."

She sat them both down.

"Though I think Kirito might have... he made a hint the other day about thinking you might like me. I guess we can both think a little bit like you, hey? You should probably tell him, about how you feel about both of us, sometime."

"You, um, aren't weirded out? You don't want to stop hanging out with me?" That was her biggest fear - it was one thing to know that Shino fancied her boyfriend but knowing someone was into you too would surely change their relationship.

"No! I just never thought about a girl liking me before! But there's nothing wrong with it. Kirito is friends with girls that like him in that way, how could I find it any more difficult?" _Phew. But she hadn't thought of that attention from girls... I guess the evidence was all there that she was straight though..._ Before she could try to put this into words, Asuna read her mind and went on.

"It's not that I've never thought about girls especially - I know when girls are pretty, and Shino, without taking this the wrong way, you should know that you are really beautiful - I've just never thought sexually about them. Or boys, before Kirito-kun. Reading up on it, I've got this sexuality where I have to have a deep emotional connection for the physical attraction to grow onto, so I knew Kirito was pretty when I met him but I didn't feel attracted to him until I really got to know him. And then when I admitted it to myself, I fell completely in love." She looked at Shino now, honey eyes entrancing, no promise there but glimpses of hope for Shino budding in the suggestion of her gaze and her words. "I can't say that I wouldn't be interested in a girl, if the person were right. And I really do like you - I can feel some of the same connection with you that I felt with Kirito 3 years ago. You are sweet, and giving and brave just like he was. I won't say the potential isn't there. But I'm still not sure I'm curious enough to try anything with a girl right now. I will let you know if that ever changes." She gave Shino a quick hug, one during which Shino couldn't help but feel her pert breasts press into her own.

Yes. Buds of hope now, and, from the usually proper Asuna, frankly the implied audacity there was incredible!

"Wait... you'll let me know? What about Kirito?! I can't break you up, I cannot be that person and I don't want to be". Kirito-like mischief sparkled in Asuna's eyes as she walked away, just before she logged out.

"Shino, honey, Kirito and I are married here. Whatever we have, we share...everything." That last word was accompanied with a wink and laced with innuendo, as Asuna disappeared, leaving Shino alone, confused but hopeful and very aroused.

 

That night, she masturbated again with abandon. She had, out of awkwardness and respect for the couple, refrained, despite her attraction, from doing so with either Kirito or Asuna in her thoughts since their first meeting in Agil's cafe, but now she felt an absolute need, a new fire stoked by Asuna's benevolent acceptance of her confession and her suggestive response. She imagined what it would be like to pleasure them both, to serve them and show them how much they meant to her, worshipping their beautiful otherworldly selves like gods, and then to be taken by both in turn, squealing as they filled her up with fingers or manflesh. She fantasised about tasting each of them in her mouth, having no idea aside from descriptions she had read online as to what either might taste like. She didn't have any toys, so she imagined her two fingers were Kirito's thing and her fingertips wet with her own saliva were Asuna's tongue, and she made herself come again and again until all the pent up tension was blown out of her and she fell into a deep, reviving sleep.

 

A few days later, enjoying time with her friends exactly the same as before, Asuna making it utterly clear there was no weirdness between them, as supportive and friendly as ever, Shino got her chance to speak to Kirito as well. She had met Kirito and Asuna together in a park, enjoying a picnic with just the three of them after school, until Asuna had to hurry off to take a phonecall from her mother (They both loved each other, but Asuna was open that there was some tension there - she had never met Kirito and wasn't convinced that he was a good pick for her daughter - weird assumption, Shino felt, without ever talking to him or wanting to know anything of their history together, as Mama Yuuki made it clear she had no interest at all in hearing about Aincrad - and also disliked her going to the SAO Survivor school and continuing to waste time on online games. All this despite Asuna being both clearly very happy and excelling academically). She asked Kirito if he would hang around with her for a bit, and he smiled and agreed, lazing in the sun absent-mindedly.

 _He's so oblivious and abstracted, until something he needs to wants to focus on comes up, then he's so... intense._ Shino felt herself melt whenever that intensity was directed at her, that feeling that in that moment you were the only thing in existence that mattered, having his full attention.

She drew that well of fervour onto herself now. "Kirito, I have something to tell you..."

"Oh, ok. Let me guess first. You want to tell me you are in love with Asuna." He said this without flippancy, but also without excitement, an honest guess of what she might say one that amazed her with its accuracy.

"Um, how did you know that?" Had Asuna told him? "Ah, it was a hunch, I've seen you stealing glances at her a lot of times in the last few weeks and you seemed pretty interested when you first met her, although you are good at hiding it. All the men we meet fancy her, it's ok, I'm not jealous. And I know she cherishes your friendship." He now looked abashed "But, though I figured you were into girls over the last few weeks, I should have guessed in GGO really, the way you reacted to me being, you thought, a girl then a guy. If I had known I would have been more sensitive about teasing you, and I'm really sorry about the lesbian comment when we were in that cave. I just felt uncomfortable with the camera there and wanted to lighten the mood by being facetious, but it was a really stupid thing to say, especially when it was true." His intense but honest eyes filled hers as he locked gazes. "I think it's really cool that you like girls, and I agree with you that Asuna is the best. Before you ask, as long as you want we can still be friends. And I won't get jealous if you look at her."

Wow. These two... how are they so wonderful? 

"Thanks, Kirito. But that's not all I have to say." She smirked at getting at least one thing up on him here. "I don't just like girls. I like boys, well, am attracted to boys, too. One boy in particular. You." She nodded as the realisation crossed his profile. "I am in love with you too. Your face, your wonderful spirit... please don't make this awkward, but you need to know how I feel"

"You as well? I don't know what you all see in me. Well, if we are being honest with each other: I like you too Shino. You are very very pretty, with your heavenly face and your, well... not that I've been looking at your body, but your GGO avatar doesn't exactly leave a lot to the imagination! You are gentle, and intelligent, and brave despite everything and you care so much... you remind me of Asuna." Shino could think of no higher praise. "I saw it from the start, like her and like me, fighting your demons and needing to learn how not to be alone, but beneath it all so strong, just needing to learn how to use that. You are a remarkable woman, Shino". He shook his head here. "If something awful had happened, and Asuna had never woken up after SAO, well, I think we could have been together, maybe. Though in that case I might have been able to help you, or ready for love, she really saved me from a dark place. But I won't ever betray Asuna, and we both know that. If something unthinkable happens, and I lose her, heavens forbid, when you think I am ready you can come and see if you can save me. And if I die, you have my blessing to go after her, in case she wants it: she doesn't like people as girls or boys, just as people, emotionally and physically, she says, so maybe it's a chance."

A bittersweet smile.

"So, you see we can't act on this, but thank you for telling me, and know that your feelings aren't unrequited. And Asuna and I both love you, and will be your friend no matter what happens. I'm sorry that you found love for two people but they ended up being us - already in love with each other. That's so unfair for you, Shino."

He gave her hand a sweet kiss, before they had to part ways. But Shino wasn't left saddened, as Kirito had expected. She was filled with happiness that she was loved, as a friend by both her wonderful heroes, and that they weren't repulsed by her affection. And she felt hope budding in her, that nothing could be there for now but both had accepted the viability was there. 

 _ **"Whatever we have, we share... everything"**_. Shino could live with being shared. She could live with that very much.


	12. Hope Blossoms

Nothing, from that perspective, happened for the next couple of months: life got in the way.

Now that the Winter Holiday season was over, school (or work for Klein and Agil) restarted in earnest, and the whole gang were suddenly a lot busier, though they still made regular time to meet up online, and especially Asuna, Kirito and Shino offline. The first two made it very clear to Shino that nothing that had been spoken about was going to detract from their friendship with her, and she continued to enjoy their company for what it was, wholesome and protective for her. Shino even met, briefly, the Yuuki family when they visited Asuna - Asuna's mother approved of the bookish, academic Shino as her daughter's friend, "much more appropriate than that slightly vulgar Shinozaki girl". She managed to get to visit Kyouji at least once a week, and he, though still struggling psychologically, seemed to be making slow and steady progress.

As well as checking in on her now improved but still frail mother, updating her to her mother's joy on how her life had progressed over the past few weeks, she spent a few evenings with the Kirigaya family, who were incredibly welcoming, Kirito's mother (though he had revealed to her that in reality she was his aunt) Midori a lovely compassionate woman, her husband stern but fair and obviously Suguha a witty delight as ever. She was told that she was welcome any time she wanted, that it was nice that Kazuto had been making friends this past year, that that horrible SAO incident had at least come with that change of fortunes (Shino found it hard to imagine Kirito unable to make friends, but Suguha insisted that a few years ago he had been really quite socially isolated, again like her), and especially great that he had friends he was spending offline time with as well.

Online their time together was more sporadic. She spent some time on ALO with their group, questing or hanging out, but she was focusing on winning the next BoB which was announced for this summer. She was also watching the idea of "Squad Jam", apparently inspired by her teaming up in the last BoB with Kirito, with interest. She wanted to see how the tournament panned out, but with a couple of the gang interested in trying out GGO sometime she was considering competing in a future version. If she could coax Asuna, whose swordsmanship skills were nearly at a par with her lover's, and Kirito along, teams would find their combination very hard to handle. 

Speaking of that, Asuna was splitting her ALO time between their old group and one called the Sleeping Knights. Their leader, a girl called Yuuki (funny coincidence) had taken on all challengers in a running duel competition, beating everyone even Kirito in a straight fight! However, though Kirito insisted he had fought all out, and exclaimed that Yuuki was indeed even better than he was, faster and less rusty, Shino suspected that he couldn't actually give his all in a mere fight for fun. She had seen that, the difference in his fighting when something mattered to him, when lives were on the line, both in how he played at various points in GGO and also how relaxed he was in ALO - he had only seemed to bring his full intensity to bear when they went after Excalibur, even then only when the stakes had been explained. The clue to this, for her, was that he had only used one sword against the Imp champion, a bizarre self-inflicted handicap. But, anyway, he said she was exceptional, so she must be.

Asuna then had fought her in turn, and lost a tight fight right at the end, and then had been drafted in to help her Guild clear some bosses, something they desperately wanted to achieve but had been hindered by the kill-stealing efforts of a much larger Guild. Shino had mostly been off ALO at this time, so she had only heard the details afterwards, but it seemed a truly salient mission for them, she had the feeling as important to them as winning BoB had been to her before those stakes suddenly raised. Kirito wouldn't tell Shino why it was so important ("that's their secret, like yours is yours, but they are neither the same nor dissimilar to each other) but said that Yuuki and her friends had a powerful secret, and this was more than a game to them, which Asuna could tell and that was why she was helping them so much. 

At first Shino had felt a little jealous of Yuuki's time with Asuna, but she knew that was silly. The girl was also so badass and so sweet as well, impetuous yes but a riot to spend time with. She had helped them clear a couple of floors later on and they all seemed a good bunch, but quite insular, so it was weird they had accepted Asuna so freely - or maybe not, given how personable she was. The dynamic between Yuuki and Asuna was a weird one, a bit of younger and elder sibling, a bit of close friends, but she was sure she picked up a hint of a crush from the new girl to Asuna, and something not the same but similar in return. Kirito was completely patient with them, showing not an ounce of jealousy, and said that "Asuna knows this is what Yuuki needs right now, so she will do what she can for her, as should we". So Shino did.

It turned out that Yuuki was dying, as were her friends, all terminally ill, lived basically her entire life online in these games, and she wanted to be remembered which is why she needed to get on the Wall of Champions. As soon as she discovered this sad fact, Shino couldn't help but feel deep empathy for another damaged spirit, and huge admiration for how strong and positive she remained throughout. She met Yuuki indirectly through the camera, sorry, the Bidirectional Communication Probe that Kirito had been spending his spare time designing and fine-tuning - mostly for his adopted daughter Yui to experience the real world, but now Yuuki was getting good use of it too. Given his views on VR as an extension, another version of reality (Shino loved to have talks with Kirito about that, he was surprisingly philosophical and loved to talk about the idea of living in a world that we could only assume was real, reliant on inputs to our brains, and Shino loved to get some intellectual discussion regularly), it was no wonder that he found Yuuki interesting and sympathetic. Anyway, helping her enjoy her last few months felt nice, and though it meant she spent less time alone with Kirito or Asuna, their interaction hadn't changed and she had temporarily at least acquired a new friend.

Part of Shino had been hoping that she might get over her two friends, or find someone else to fall in love with, but that wasn't to happen. The generous way they supported Yuuki, just like they were doing to her, made them only more attractive, as did the way they were beginning to fill out slowly again, noticeable in Asuna's rounder bosum and Kirito's more toned arms. She couldn't help but love them.

In the meanwhile, Yuuki was getting sicker, and more of Asuna's time was spent with her, but they still had time for a few quests together, meeting a girl called Ceba and fighting a secret boss for her with Yuuki, Asuna and Kirito. They all watched the first Squad Jam in the Level 22 Log Cabin, watching impressed by some of the players, especially the winning captain, LLENN, whose speed and unorthodox style would  probably work well even in BoB. Everyone was settled and happy. Shino was the strongest, the happiest she had been for any prolonged period of her life - she could feel herself healthier and healthier every day.

And then on 29th March, Yuuki passed away. 

The funeral was well attended, both the virtual one and the real one. Shino attended both, cried at both, at the thought of losing such a brave friend. Yuuki's family seemed truly touched that so many people had attended. They needn't have been. People loved Yuuki. 

Everyone was upset, but Asuna was devastated - she had forged a real connection with the girl, one she admitted she wasn't sure how to define, but it sounded to Shino much like the one she had described forming with Kirito and starting to form with her. At first she would only let Kirito spend time with her, comfort her in such a profound loss. But then, one day, about a week after the funeral,  a week that Shino had found horribly hard, stripped largely of her two most important people (though sweet Suguha stepped in to spend time with her), worrying that in losing Konn _o_ Yuuki she had lost these two as well, she got a message from Kirito.

_" **Hey. If you are free, please come to my house this evening. Asuna is here with me. She's asking for you. Don't worry. We both still love you**."_

_Thank heavens._

Strangely nervous to see them again after what had felt like so long but she knew was just a few days, Shino headed out to the Kirigaya household after school. It was Friday now, so there was no rush, nothing urgent that needed doing tomorrow, and she didn't feel like playing games again just yet.

She arrived and a wet faced but smiling Kirito let her in.

"Hi Shino! She's in the living room, come on in". Following him, she asked where his parents and sister were. "Ah, Suguha has a kendo competition this weekend, it's not that close so they are driving her up there and staying the night, maybe the whole weekend with her. Here we go."

Asuna, eyes a touch red but smile fully extended to them, sat there on the sofa, waiting for them both.

"Hi Shino. I'm so sorry that I've been absent from you for the last week. It's been a hard one, the grief was way more than I expected, and I had some confusing soul-searching to do. But we need to talk, not just so I can apologise". 

_Need to talk is a red flag phrase. I'm scared now._

"Don't look terrified like that! I'm not going to push you away. Kind of the opposite, really..."

She beckoned Shino towards her, and sat her down between herself and Kirito.

"I've been focussing so much on Yuuki the last 3 months, and you deserve to have some focus too. But in spending so much time with her, I've discovered things about myself. My relationship with her was, well complex, like a friend or sister but I knew she liked me, like you do. And I know, now that I've lost her, that I felt the same - it felt like it would if I'd lost Kirito-kun, a bit less, but that same pain as when I thought he'd died those times in Sword Art Online, and I knew that I loved her a bit, as a girl not just a friend." She turned her honey gaze onto her, shining jewel-like with hard seriousness. "And I know that I love you a bit like that too, now. And I don't want to lose a moment and risk losing you too, to waste another chance at love." She smiled, and reached across her to hold Kirito's hand. "Shared love. I think we have enough between us here to extend it to another person. I told you I'd let you know if I ever got curious enough to be with a girl. Well, I'm curious, Shino, and so is Kirito if you are."

Those buds of hope, ungrown and starting to wither after 3 months of stasis and 7 days of pain, sprung into blossom inside Shino.

Kirito-kun spoke now.

"Don't let us pressure you into anything you don't want, and we'll have to talk about how this works, exactly. But if we do this, every one of us is in a relationship with the other. It's either me and Asuna or neither of us. And if it gets too weird, anyone can back out at any time. But we've talked a lot about it, and I'm pretty sure it can work. What do you say?"

_What do I say? What do I say?! This isn't a thing you ever think might really happen, but my answer was never in doubt..._

"Yes. Yes, please".


	13. Shared Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, at last, contains polyamorous sex

"Yes. Yes, please"

Her whole body was shaking with excitement, and joy as she saw the relief and the happy look that passed between her two friends, no whatever this made them now. Smiling, Asuna spoke up first.

"Thank the gods for that. Now usually I'd say we should do some dating first, but really we've been on plenty of dates the three of us together. So we can sit down, have the dinner we cooked up together, and then, Shino, to be blunt we will get you caught up to speed"

She put her hand on Shino's willing thigh. "I think you've been waiting a long time for this, sweetie, and you probably have a lot of pent up tension, right? Is it too forward of us to promise to help release that tonight? Or do you want longer just spending time together first? No pressure".

"No. No, release is good." She could barely get the words out, her breath had been completely taken away, and she was aware that she was already past damp in her panties. Her face must be painted red by now. "But, uh, I don't really have any experience there..."

Kirito gave her a reassuring squeeze of the hand. "Well, we don't have any other than each other, so don't worry. We are all learning. Let's eat first, though, I'm starving and the food Asuna prepared looked soooo good!"

Any tension to the mood lightened by Kirito's grumbling stomach, the three of them headed to the dining room, where Asuna had in fact prepared a veritable feast. Shino quickly discovered that Asuna's cooking skills in VRMMOs were very much a reflection of her ability here too, and she had produced a delicious selection of creative options. "I love cooking, it lets me cut loose and makes me happy", she replied when Shino remarked on the sheer amount of work she, assisted by her boyfriend, had put into this. 

Over dinner they caught up on the last few months. Asuna shared some bittersweet anecdotes of Yuuki and her Guild, updated them all on her improving relationship with her mother and how she was learning extra English from Yui (her daughter being multilingual thanks to her design as an emotional support programme for the internationally planned SAO). Yui! Suddenly anxious, Shino interrupted.

"Sorry Asuna-chan," (she figured she could use that term, now) "but I just thought about Yui! Won't anything we do here upset her?"

Kirito reassured her with a smile. "We already mentioned the possibility. She was a pretty progressive programme for mental health before, so the concept of unusual relationships wasn't too hard for her. She's actually excited that she might get 'another mummy', and wants to spend more time with you".

That made Shino blush. It was a bit far ahead, but the thought of being formally involved in their romantic future was scary and exciting.

Her conscience placated, she started to add to the conversation, letting the others know about her mother's progress, her visits to Kyouji and how GGO was going. She was confident that she would contest at the top at the next Bullet of Bullets, and mentioned the possibility of a team battle in a future Squad Jam - she had enjoyed the first one, but wouldn't be happy distracting herself from solo play for the newly announced second contest. The teams were a max of 6, which would likely be something like the three of them, Suguhu and then whichever of Egil, Klein, Silica and Lisbeth were free. Both of them seemed interested, Kirito saying he was looking to dip back into GGO soon, and Asuna excited to see how she could adapt to a new game. 

Kirito then went over his ongoing plans to integrate VR and reality more and more, the progress he had made with the BCD and the training he was now starting with Suguha to get physically fit again - nothing too intense yet but he had sparred with her a few times and started regular running.

The time flew as they soaked up each other's happiness and company, as well as the delectable meal in front of them, and then played some quick non-VR games, on Kirito's vintage Nintendo. Shino hadn't played this sort of game, a kart racer, in years, since she were a little kid in fact, but it was fun and almost addictive.

Now thoroughly relaxed, the three of them sat on the sofa together, initially Kirito and Asuna hand in hand. As if she weren't there, they leant in to kiss each other, long and lingering, and Shino felt herself tingle below as she watched them explore each other's mouth and part, a fine gossamer strand of saliva connecting the two for a few seconds. Then Asuna turned to her, asking permission with her eyes. Shino, heart hammering, mouth feeling suddenly dry, gave the most minuscule nod, and pursed her lips. She had no idea how to kiss, really, had read a few articles but never had the practice and had felt far too awkward to try it out on pillows or that sort of thing. With a gentle giggle, Asuna closed the distance between them and gave her a short, sweet but firm peck on the lips, then a longer one that Shino melted into, melting in her loins as well, slowly parting Shino's lips, pressing through, letting her taste the delicate, vanilla flavour of Asuna's mouth. She gently explored Shino's mouth with her tongue then tenderly nibbled her lip before pulling away, leaving Shino panting and desperate for more.

This was followed by Kirito's hand on her cheek, turning her towards him where he waited with an initially more forceful, almost hard kiss, sending ice and fire down her throat and into her chest, that tapered into something long and lenient, Shino now intrigued to taste his flavour too. He was similar to Asuna, really, a very subtle sweetness. Now she felt electric tingling on her neck, as Asuna had started to nuzzle her there.

"This is your first time, Shino-chan, so tonight is going to be all about you. If you want us to stop, just say stop. If you want us to do something, let us know. Otherwise, go with the flow..."

Feeling burning sensations all across her skin, and a profound wetness between her legs, as they peppered her cheeks, neck, collar with kisses, Shino closed her eyes to better merge with this miracle that was happening. Kirito tickled her ear with his tongue and, teasing warm breath sending more shivers across her shoulders, whispered there how they were going to look after her, protect her here and everywhere.

_Gods, I am so wet, I cannot believe this is happening..._

One or both of them were tugging on her jumper, pulling her arms up and the clothing over her head, and she complied with the action, leaving her ams up as then she felt an increased breeze over her front as it seemed they unbuttoned her blouse. A quick tugging sensation between her shoulder blades and she felt the support of her brasserie slacken, and then she opened her eyes to see her lovers both topless now, Asuna's perfect apple breasts still in a red bra and Kirito's slim chest bare to her, his workouts beginning to reform lithe, wiry muscles and the beginnings of a six-pack.

He gently pulled her open blouse off, and at the same time Asuna kissed her deeply in the hollow of where her neck met her torso and slid her bra off, hand cupping one breast casually. Shino's nipples were now fully erect, and she knew she would let either, both, of them do whatever they wanted to her. Now both of them feathered kisses across her front, along the swell of her modest breasts towards her deep pink areolas and needy nipples, Asuna massaging one breast from the underneath, mildly and sweetly, whilst Kirito-kun, just as nice though entirely different, squeezed the other, flicking the point there, making her gasp.

"You are so beautiful, Shino-chan." "Yes, you don't need to be shy about how you look. Your sweet face, your wonderful, perky little handfuls of breast, your misty, dreamer's eyes... your sexy long legs..." Both of them stroked her thighs in various places, softly, as they stroked her self esteem, and both in unison, as if planned, brought their mouths to her nipples, one licking, one latching, now lapping, now lavishing the most sensitive bits of those mounds, as she moaned and started to writhe, already on fire down below. One hand undid the tie of her jeans, popped them open.

"Oh, gods..."

A teasing hand stroked her pubic curls down there, which, not expecting anything like this, were trimmed short as usual for her, but widespread, to her slight shame.

"Sorry... I didn't shave or trim, I wasn't expecting this..." Asuna tutted, "Nothing to apologise for, I think it's sexy". She dipped down her finger a little and just came millimetres from grazing her clitoris. "We are going to get very intimate with you now, ok, Shino?" "Yeeeess?" " So we are going to go upstairs for now, and you need to take those jeans off for us." Kirito and Asuna alternated sentences as they continued fondling her curves, stroking her skin, perfectly in synch. 

Wanting more, ready to strip naked and beg them to use her, Shino nodded frantically, and was pulled up to her wobbly legs by Kirito, his own (black) jeans straining outwards against his obvious erection.

_That looks pretty big... I don't really know what's normal for a guy's penis though..._

They shepherded her upstairs, and she slipped off her jeans, as did they. Shino stared at the gorgeous image of Asuna, now discarding her bra, standing in lacy white panties, divine breasts as pointed as her own, long legs leading up to her toned rear, shapely hips and slender waist, and Kirito's supple toned thighs drawing her gaze to his black boxers and impressive bulge within.

They ushered her onto Kirito's bed, and gently parted her legs, causing her to moan with anticipation and embarrassment when she realised and they saw the translucency of her thin green underwear, soaked through, and the scent of raw desire that almost stank from her open thighs. 

"Oh gods, I'm so humiliatingly horny. I smell like I'm in heat, like an animal". "You smell amazing, Shino-chan, I can't wait to see if you taste as good..." That was Kirito, then kissing her, touching her breasts whilst Asuna, growing excited, slipped a hand inside her wet underwear and felt her sopping folds, before sneaking a warm finger into her tight hole. As Shino cried out for more, Kirito added a hand there, and together they tweaked and skimmed her engorged nub, her ready labia, worked inside her throbbing vagina, teased the area between that and her little anus, touched the inside of her thighs, all teasing and gentle, until her whole crotch was one touch away from exploding.

"Plllllleeeeeease!" "Ok, love, your first of the night now". She wasn't sure which of them rubbed her sensitive bud and which thrust their fingers in the nectar drenched hole of her flower, but with their combined efforts picking up sudden pace and force, she erupted, gushing over them as her body spasmed and jerked and she moaned out both their names, colours flashing in her eyes and sense of body vanishing for a second.

When she opened her eyes, a moment later, Asuna was on her knees next to the bed, yanking down her boyfriend's ( _Their boyfriend's, now)_ boxers, releasing his long, swollen, leaking member, a thing Shino, who had never though that such an ungainly body part might be attractive in itself, briefly glimpsed as a sculpted work of art, before it vanished into Asuna's mouth, their ministrations on her virgin sex driving both of them into lust for each other. Shino immediately, despite her intense orgasm, placed her hands between her legs and started to play with her clitoris again at the beautiful sight of Asuna taking Kirito deeper and deeper, faster and faster, until she disengaged, stringy spit and precum trailing off her lips and his tip, and gestured to invite Shino over.

"This is yours to share, Shino-chan. Try it, some girls don't like giving head but I think Kirito's thingy tastes and feels great in my mouth".

Eagerly, Shino rolled off the bed next to her girlfriend, and joined her on her knees.


	14. A New First Time

Shino looked hungrily at Kirito's 'sword' in front of her- it was the first penis she had seen in reality, and she wasn't very acquainted with them remotely either, not reading or watching much pornography, only a bit of erotica once her sexual appetite had been titillated in the last few months.

It was bigger than she had expected, looking at it made her wonder how it would fit in her later on, had a very slight curve, looked very rigid and ended in a wider point, which was plum coloured and sleek with clear fluid leaking from the tip as well as wetness from Asuna's mouth. She took it in her hand, which only covered about half its length, and marvelled at the steely strength but also the sponginess of it to touch, an oxymoron. It felt very warm. Asuna in the meantime took one of the round testicles beneath it in her hand, rolling it over between her fingers, and gently used her other hand to bring Shino's head towards it, where Kirito placed a hand behide her head but didn't force her further. 

She opened her mouth and licked the tip, finding it tasted slightly salty, with an oily texture in her mouth, but not particularly strong either way. Encouraged by his groan, she opened her mouth and enveloped his manhood, lapping at it from within, which he seemed to enjoy. Smiling beside her, Asuna let her continue for a while, enjoying the meatier flavour of the actual organ in her mouth, before taking over, showing her how to take more of its length and tease and lick, and they took turns for a while until she left Shino to suck away, wrapping her up from behind as Kirito used his hand to gently bob her head. From behind Shino she toyed with the other girl's nipples again, with Kirito's balls and then, alternating between those urgently with one hand, moved the other to Shino's groin to finish off the work that Shino had started watching this blow job at first. She worked Shino quicker and quicker, as Shino, still not taking Kirito too deep not wanting to gag and not being forced by him, swirled away at his member faster and faster.

She came again under Asuna's precise touch, causing her to suck harder and slip Kirito further into the back of her mouth, and she felt a change in the tension of his thing, as he murmured a warning.

"Shino, do you want his cum in your mouth?" Still recovering she nodded. "Ok, open wide and save some for me". She pulled back just as he spurted, coating the sides of her mouth and her tongue, then as she removed herself, splattering again onto her tongue. Asuna immediately pulled her head towards her and took a long, deep kiss, taking half the seed into her own mouth as she touched and stroked Shino, pulling her to the floor. 

He tasted like a rich umami, lightly salted chowder. The texture was a bit weird and gelatinous but the taste she could get more of. 

"My turn to taste you now, Shino-chan". Asuna sounded eager, and helped Shino back onto the bed in a sitting position, pulling off her now soaked panties and tossing them away. She pushed on Shino's thighs and, aching for the beautiful woman's attention, the succour she had fantasised after their conversation a few months ago, Shino opened her legs as wide as they would go, hooking her hands under her own knees to give Asuna better access. She then felt very self-conscious as Asuna contemplated and viewed her open, flaunted mound and folds.

 _This is so embarrassing, I probably look a mess_.

"Don't... Don't look! It's so embarrassing, I'm probably so ugly down there..."

"This? Shino, you look wonderful, this is a pretty, fragrant little flower, and I'm going to taste it and nourish it. I've just never seen another girl's one like this before, but I really like it."

Tentatively she licked across it, tongue dipping into her slit, and Shino felt her smile as she shuddered and mewled at the movement, the wet tongue sending tongues of fire towards her core. Then Asuna, copying what she liked from Kirito, made love to Shino with her mouth, hungry licks, sucking on her clitoris as she plunged a finger into her hole once more, taking Shino to ecstacy.

An ecstacy heightened by the titillation of seeing a recovered Kirito get on all fours behind Asuna and start to play with her own pussy, pleasuring her from behind with his mouth and thrusting his own fingers into her, seemingly with both hands, so Shino wasn't sure where the second one was going. Asuna was obviously exceedingly wet and ready from the squelching sounds his thrusting fingers made going into her from the very start, and she started moaning and breathing hard, the hot breath and humming sensation that produced adding another dimension to the glorious feeling across Shino's vulva. Then he stood up, firmly leading Asuna's pelvis into a position where it pointed into the air, driving Asuna deeper into Shino's welcoming lap, and she got the magnificent view of him taking her from behind, clearly penetrating her soaking vagina.

The image and the erotic thoughts it conjured drove Shino instantly to another orgasm, crying out and clamping her thighs around Asuna's face as the other girl kept kissing her down below for a few more seconds before coming herself, heaving and moaning, as Kirito thrust into her again and again.

"Oh, gods, that was amazing! You taste so good, Shino, like tangy herbal tea, and that felt so good Kirito, my love. Shino, is Kirito going to fill you up with his big thingy now, make you his wife and mine?"

"Oh, yes, please!"

"Ask him nicely, honey"

"Please, Kirito-Kun, please put your cock inside me, take my virginity, I need it!"

_I can't believe I said the word 'cock'! But it just came out of me. This is a dream come true, I just want to let them keep commanding me._

Pulling out of Asuna, his penis gleaming with the sticky, copious honey from his beautiful girlfriend, he gave Shino a gentle look.

"Are you sure, Shino-chan? I'll be careful but it's the first time for you, so it might be sore for a short time. And I'd better use protection, I guess you aren't on any."

She made it clear that it was ok, she wanted this, she was grateful for them both being so tender and she was indeed on no protection. Asuna had slid a condom over his shaft and now sat back, her almost see through white panties pushed aside as she slowly started to touch herself watching the show.

With the utmost tenderness, Kirito leant over her and eased, a tiny bit at a time, his erection into her, teasing her entrance first before taking it slow and gradually pushing into her. At first the stretching sensation, the burning tension on her skin and the pressing inside her was a little sore, but not outright painful, and then as she got used to the absolute fullness within her, he started to rock. She felt 3 things at once- a feeling like she needed to pee, the pressure of her tight walls clasping his thingy which felt enormous inside her and a building exquisite ache further within in her.

"Am I going too fast?" "N..no... keep going, please".

He started to slide in and out but without any aggression, helped by how utterly wet she was and completely aroused her whole body was, sensing both his kind eyes and Asuna's hungry ones. 

"There's, um, no barrier there..." "Yeah, it actually went a lot of years ago when I did gymnastics... This feels so good, you can go harder if you like".

He did, the tempest inside her accelerating as he did, more and more of that burning sweet ache as she became used to his girth. 

_This was amazing, I heard it sometimes hurts the first time and lots of girls don't climax, but I can feel it building up ..._

He pushed a finger between their pelvises and started to flick at her little nub and she started to whimper out his name. Then he pulled out for a moment, causing her to whine at the sudden emptiness, before he stood up and shuffled her to the edge of the bed, her legs hanging over, and recommenced firmly but lovingly plunging into her, not roughly but taking in her full depth and his full length, toying with her brown curls and teasing her clitoris, keeping her seemingly deliberately on the desperate edge that she had reached.

 

Suddenly another mouth kissed her, sweet Asuna pushing her lips apart and excitedly exploring her mouth with her tongue. She was now completely naked, and, playing with her hair and massaging Shino's breast, she then lowered her own magnificent firm teats to the younger girl's face, and begged her to lick and kiss them. Struggling to concentrate with the storm of sensations across her whole body, she tried and did so very sloppily, covering them in saliva but Asuna seemed to like it. Then, as Kirito picked up the pace once more, Asuna wheeled across her and sat on her face. 

The feminine, animal aroma of this gorgeous creature poured over Shino's face, dominating her nostrils and driving her wild. She would do anything to inhale that scent again, so natural and so revealing. She was covered in sticky, savoury nectar, subtle but delicious, and this practically poured into Shino's face. She knew what Asuna wanted, and between hard gasps as Kirito made love to her, she started to lick and suck away, addicted to her girlfriend's taste and the cute mewls she made. She didn't have a great view with Asuna's pelvis in her face, but she could tell Asuna was nearly bare down there, and couldn't wait to see her properly later on. Clearly nearly at another orgasm, seeming to climax remarkably quickly from what Shino had seen, Asuna turned 180 degrees, still sitting on Shino but now facing Kirito and leaning into him, where he kissed her neck and mouth and started to play with her nipples. Shino buried her moaning face in Asuna's folds, drinking her in as much as she could, but Asuna shifted so that another little hole, a tight winking cute pink eye between two perfect buttocks, was at her mouth level and pleaded "Pleaaaaaase?" 

"Ah yeah Shino, she's too ashamed to spell it out but Asuna loves when people touch her other hole..."

Too horny to think twice, Shino kissed it and stuck her tongue in, using a finger to touch Asuna from the front, surprisingly enjoying the mustier, nuttier flavour. Asuna had evidently cleaned around there carefully before Shino had arrived today. 

That extra attention pushed Asuna past edge and she came loudly, squealing out for both her her lovers and that finally finished off Shino as Kirito now pounded her burning pussy and she spasmed and went limp with another orgasm. Kirito then pulled out, ripped off the contraceptive and spurted his seed over Shino's tummy and Asuna's legs. All 3 collapsed together on the bed, covered in sweat and sex juice, sated for now.

"Right." Asuna spoke. "Let's get a little bit cleaned up and then we can share our first sleepover together in this bed." "I didn't bring any..." " You don't need to wear anything, silly. You're our girlfriend now, equally both of ours. We'd better rest though, I've got some ideas for tomorrow, some spending time together and some pretty physical."

She turned her honey eyes to Shino though, holding both her hand and Kirito's.

"I want you to know that that was great though, Shino. I'm glad I slept with a girl, with you, and this isn't a one time thing. If you are ok with it, we are together now, forever."

Shino was much more than ok with that.

"Tomorrow we'll have to work out how we approach letting other people know- some will think it's weird, and I'm not sure how I'll get my mother to understand. We need you in our life, like this, and right now all I want to do is fall asleep with both of you in my arms."


	15. Ignite

Shino had probably the best night's sleep of her entire life, feeling completely safe and secure between two people she knew she could completely trust, eventually waking the next morning with Asuna's arm around her waist, face nested inches from her own still relaxed in serene sleep, and Kirito pressed up against her back, head resting on her hair. He seemed to be asleep as well, but she felt a half hard presence poking the lower part of her back. Was he secretly awake and aroused? Or was this normal for boys? She had no idea really, but either way the feel of it was both reassuring and exciting.

_I cannot believe that last night happened. It still seems like it must have been a dream, a fantasy, the idea of any solution to how I felt seemed so impossible. But they both said I was their girlfriend, just thinking those words makes my pulse rise, and they both seemed very happy with what we did last night! Losing my virginity and it was to two people at once... another thing that's hard to get my head around, but I guess it helps me feel like I don't have to pick a sexuality. My life has changed so much because of both of them already, I really, really want a way to show them both how much they mean to me._

They had slept with just a light sheet over the top of them, needing nothing else on top of the heat of their own naked bodies. Shino's stirring caused the other two both in turn to stir too.

"Morning Shino-chan!" Kirito kissed the back of her head, then she was treated to the beautiful sight of Asuna slowly opening her hazel eyes. Both gave her a kiss on the lips, their taste comingling with more bitter morning breath, as well as to each other. They stole another half an hour enjoying their proximity, during which Kirito fell asleep again.

"He always does that in this kind of situation," Asuna's face was lit up, made from tranquil to divine with a smile of absolute peace. "He taught me how to take time to relax no matter what life threw our way."

_It's clear how much she loves him, how much they love each other. For all their words, am I still intruding on this? What they've suggested will be a really tough thing to convince other people about, have I pressurised them into making their lives harder just for me?_

Anxious, Shino whispered words to this sentiment to her new girlfriend, who looked taken aback, answering with an edge in her voice.

"No Shino, never say or think that! We chose to do this because we love each other but we love you also, and you need to trust us with that as well as elsewhere. Now tell me, what makes you afraid?"

Whilst Kirito slept a little longer, Shino unloaded her worries and fears (of losing the two of them, for her mother's frail health, of them being rejected due to their unconventional relationship, of creating imbalance...) to the openly listening Asuna, who took them all in and reassured her before hugging her tightly. 

"Little Sinon, this will probably be tough. But it's what we've chosen and the people that matter will eventually accept and support it." 

The next voice came from behind, slurry with recent sleep, as Kirito added his view.

"Yeah. Explaining to people will be tough, but if they love us then they will come around, even if they don't understand. We don't need to rush into saying anything but we shouldn't try and keep things secret for too long. The one I'm worried about is Asuna's mother: she's only just coming around to the idea of her dating me, nevermind someone else as well. That will be a tough meeting eventually. In the meantime, we should tell the others one at a time, they'd want it personally. I'll start with Suguha when she arrives back. It'll all be ok."

Shino still felt anxious.

_I'm probably more used to how easily 'friends' can reject you when you do something they see as wrong than they are. But their confidence is contagious, and I guess they know the others better than I do. I'll trust them, no matter what._

She started to calm down, helped by Kirito gently massaging her back, whilst Asuna got up to prepare breakfast. Soon he had worked most of the tension out of her, and she found herself becoming aroused, feeling him half-hard pressing into her rear end, and trying to be subtle, she ground back a little to see what reaction it ignited. 

"I see you are unsheathing your Excalibur right here, Kirito-Kun, are you fulfilling your promise to think of me as you do?"

Kirito's penis hardened further, and he gave a little gasp, continuing the kneading of her shoulders and back and kissed her neck softly. However:

"I think for now we should keep any repeats of last night to when all 3 of us are in the room, Shino-chan, it might be a little unfair otherwise. But after breakfast, we should all have time to relax before we have to head out. The plan is to spend some time outside today!"

Reluctantly, Shino stopped teasing him, and lured by the scent of frying pancakes they both left the bedroom and settled down for another delicious Asuna-made meal.

Partway through savouring the stack of pancakes Asuna had cooked for them all, Shino felt once again overwhelmed by her new lovers' kindness and the support they had created in her life. A fire of deep feeling, the opposite of when she had tried so hard to numb any sensations from her heart, was ignited with in her, passion and love for these marvellous people.

"Asuna-chan, Kirito-Kun, I have something I need to say. You've done so much for me these past few months. You both saved me from self-loathing and despair when we met in the cafe for the first time. You've taught me how to fight my demons, made me friends, protected and supported me constantly and reminded me how much good there is in the world and in human interaction, nevermind physically saving my life. And now you are generous enough to share your romance and your love with me, understanding that I needed it and not being selfish of each other. I owe you so much, and I love you so much, and I will do everything in my power to support and protect you if anything ever happens to you. You are my Sun and my Moon, my day and my night, and I am with you until the very end."

By the end of her unrehearsed speech, Shino had tears in her eyes, and she could she the silvery sheen of water in both of theirs as well.

"Sinonon, we love you too. Now, finish your pancakes before you make Kirito cry!"

Sinonon. She liked that, aside from her own self-made Sinon, she'd never had a pet name before.

After breakfast, they went back to Kirito's room to change. The plan was to go to Yoyogi park, where Shino had never visited before, and do some cycling to help continue Kirito's rehab ("unless you make it a fun activity, he never does it! And he doesn't eat enough unless I make him either! He's got to start filling out more, the new Augma console has been announced and you need to be in physical shape to use that properly."), then visit some flower gardens and have Sashimi by the waterfront for a romantic dinner.

Shino started to slip off her borrowed pyjamas (Asuna had brought a spare pair from school- Suguha's would probably have been a bit loose on her legs and bust), starting to sweat at remembering she was naked underneath, then remembered she wasn't the only one as she slid her trousers off, top still in place.

She looked up shyly to sneak a peek at the others, seeing the twin gorgeous sights of Asuna and Kirito completely naked, him slim and fine as if crafted from pure white China, thin but muscled defined over his chest and shoulders, groomed crown of black curls above his thing, his cock, at half mast and making Shino's mouth water at the memory of it warm and hard there and her groin buzz at the memory of what it had done there. Her graceful, willowy tall but with some divine gift of curves at her hips and plentiful breasts, pale and firm like some new fruit, that Shino longed to taste again, patch of hazelnut hair over a perfect feminine Mound of Venus.

Her glances had not remained subtle, by this point she realised she was practically staring slack-jawed. 

"Hey, Shino, should I be worried? Last time you were undressing like this in front of me, I ended up with your palm tattooed across my cheek..."

_Why that little... Why would he bring that back up? That was a completely different situation, and..._

"That's a naughty provocation, Kirito, I thought you were a girl, maybe later on you want me to screw you like a girl? I'll need a toy for that though. First, let me give another cheek a 'palm tattoo'..."

She advanced up and slapped his arse hard, making him yelp, a sound of mingled pain, surprise and excitement, and making Asuna laugh.

"Careful, Sinonon, Kirito doesn't mind a bit of roughness and slapping if he's in the mood." She stepped up behind Shino and slipped both hands under her top, cupping her breasts, feeling the hardness of her nipples, her own breasts grazing Shino's back, setting fire to her sensitised skin. "And I don't think either of us would mind you 'screwing him like a girl', or me for that matter, though he's never tried it. Right now there's no toys though. Just us."

She lifted off Shino's top and kept teasing her nipples, rubbing her body into the back of Shino's and whispering how much she loved her, how sexy she was in her ear between little nibbles, whilst Kirito, now recovered, sank to his knees.

"I owe you an apology, for then and now. And something to make up for it..." 

Knowing how he wanted to make up for it, Shino parted her legs, taking a wide stance, and then moaned as he buried his face into her cleft, fairly damp by this stage, and suckled her growing clitoris and tasted her juices. Asuna dropped a hand to the back of his head and pushed him closer onto her, driving on his urgent licking, and he then pushed a finger into Shino and with his other hand past her onto Asuna's nub, keeping his balance only with Shino's hands on his shoulders and Asuna's on his nape. 

Within frantic moments, Shino came across his face and hand, kept quiet by the hand Asuna had now moved across her mouth. Asuna now pinched her nipple and then her bum in order and she groaned with painful pleasure into that hand, before whirling around and pushing Asuna into the bed. Knowing they had to leave soon, she still wanted to get both of her wonderful lovers off, and she and Kirito worked together with little licks to Asuna's thighs and now open lower lips to bring her to the edge, then Shino pulled Kirito beside his soulmate on the edge of the bed, and wrapped one hand around his member and with the other put two fingers, slightly crooked, into Asuna, with a third pressing on the closed bud of her behind, and then used both hands rapidly to finish them off, Asuna crying out and clamping down on her fingers with her vagina, little sphincter winking open and closed over the teasing digit there, and Kirito squirting out his seed across his thighs and Shino's face.

Giggling, she licked her lips, enjoying the taste once more, and giggled further when Asuna licked a dribble off her cheek.

Slightly delayed, they all showered quickly in turn and got their sports gear on. 

Several hours later, after some hard cycling in beautiful greenery, walking through cultivated nature and music and delicious food opposite a delightful view (at a table that had been made aware very clearly that this was a three way date), they made it back home, tired but deeply happy together. They made slow, wonderful love between the three of them and drifted off again in each other's embrace.

 

The next day, they spent some time in the morning (after washing the bedsheets and eating) catching up online, as Shino could borrow Suguha's AmuSphere, and caught up with their friends in ALO for an hour (without breaking the news of their new relationship - Shino was nervous throughout that someone would be able to tell) and then an excited Asuna transferred her account to GGO for the first time. They didn't have long enough to do a lot before their planned visit to meet the returning Suguha in the afternoon, but Asuna, whose avatar like ALO looked like her but with blue hair, made some adjustments to match her online hair and eyes to her real life colours and picked a white and red body armour outfit with a flowing cape. Kirito and Shino lent her some online credit and she quickly joined her boyfriend in buying a photon sword as well as a pistol and SMG. They didn't do any mission or world exploring, just spent an hour or so with Asuna getting used to the weapons, but she had the natural abilities of Kirito with the blade, not quite as good reflexes but even more raw speed and unlike him she was actually half competent with her guns. Shino couldn't wait to unleash her upon the GGO world - after she won the next BoB, she was really very interested in entering Squad Jam and with the three of them together other teams would struggle to cope, both in terms of skill but also unorthodoxy - the winner of the first SJ had been the least orthodox team, led by a a tiny speed demon called LLENN. With Yuuki's passing, Shino hadn't seen the second SJ, but she had heard it was won by a team that had avoided all the action until the end but the two runner up sides, the better teams by far, had again been deeply unorthodox. What was more unusual than a crack sniper and two sword players who could deflect bullets, before they even added any other players into the equation?

Time flew, and they had to return to the real world for lunch and then as they were finishing up, they heard the Kirigaya family car pull up in the driveway. Soon Asuna would have to go back to her dorm, and Shino wanted to visit her mom before the school week restarted. But first, they would break the news of what was happening between them to Kirito's sweet, kid-hearted but often protective little sister, and maybe even his foster parents. Shino felt a cold fire of fear ignite inside her once again. 


	16. Courage

Shino felt nervous throughout the entire welcoming reception for the returning Kirigaya family, amazed at how at ease Kirito and Asuna managed to be. As happy as she was, she could not shake off a niggling feeling of guilt and anxiety at what they might think. Kirito had said that once Asuna and Shino felt he would talk to his parents, which took some of the pressure off, but Shino had promised herself that, as one of her best friends, she would break the news of the new "throuple" they had formed to Suguha.

Kirito's younger sister was nearly glowing with happiness on entering the house, apparently victorious and pleased with her performance in her tournament and looking forward to a Kendo training camp and high level competition in a couple of weeks. The entire group spoke about how Suguha was getting on, and even Kirito expressed some interest in casually restarting some of his Kendo as part of his ongoing rehab - he had apparently given it up to the displeasure of his family years ago, but felt now that he was more likely to feel interested in regularly doing exercise that his physiotherapist said he needed to continue if it were familiar - Shino knew he still thought of himself as a swordsman, at least in part, at heart. 

Suguha then asked what the three of them had done with their sleepover weekend, and luckily Asuna had smoothly answered before Shino could think too much as reveal secrets with a blush, mentioning the game-playing, the cycling and sightseeing and the quality time together, essentially everything other than the shift in relationship and the sex. 

After more small talk and just as Shino and Asuna, the Kirigaya parents had to pop out to grab some things from the shops, leaving all the teenagers alone together. Nerves hit Shino hard. This was going to take a lot of courage, both in coming out about her feelings but also mentioning a form of love so taboo, and to someone she now saw as a close friend, an integral factor in her life, someone who might feel either disgusted at the concept of 3 people sharing each other or protective over her brother, someone whose friendship, a new and rare gift for Shino, she might lose at any moment. Sweet Suguha picked up this tension in her face:

"Shino-chan, what's wrong? Is something the matter?" She looked worried and searchingly to her brother and Asuna on the other side of the room, who looked at each other, hand in hand, and then Kirito opened his mouth as if to start speaking.

_Shino, it's now or never. This is your chance to be the one who opens up. They'll have to be the ones to speak to almost everyone else, but you wanted to be the one to open up to Suguha..._

"It's ok, Kirito, can I be the one to talk up?" He assented, nodding his head. "Suguha, I, we, have something to tell you. It's going to sound really weird, and I get it if you don't approve and even if you don't want to be friends any more, but I promise it's, um, based on something deep and real..."

"Shino, you're scaring me a little... but I'm pretty certain whatever you say I'll want to be friends with you... It'll be ok, come here." She hugged Shino warmly, and bit by bit the words trickled and then flooded out of her, Kirito and Asuna adding in as necessary from the couch where they had sat down together. Shino felt a bit awkward putting herself in the open but, strengthened by the presence of her boyfriend and girlfriend and the quiet growing understanding on Suguha's face, she kept going. She revealed her bisexuality, how she had fallen for Kirito and then Asuna and then confessed to them and been graciously brought into their relationship. 

Suguha listened right to the end, and without saying anything, once it was clear that Shino had finished, she simply hugged her again, and then Asuna and Kirito.

"I am honestly so happy for you. All three of you. I won't pretend this wasn't surprisingly and maybe a bit odd, but I know that nobody can help who or how they love and if this makes you happy I will support you together, no matter what. Thank you for telling me your secret - I know how scary it must have been". There was something Shino could not quite describe behind Suguha's eyes, but it half-reminded her of a look she had seen in the mirror, touched with sadness and possibly...fear? It sent a spike of guilt through her. 

_I haven't told her all my secrets... I haven't told any of my friends, aside from Kirito - even Asuna and Lisbeth heard from him. She deserves to know the truth._

"Um... Suguha, I... have something else to tell you. Kirito and Asuna know, but nobody else. And you might judge me for it, but you are a true friend and I don't want to have secrets from you." 

Without pause, she unloaded her darkest burden - that day, the bank, the gun, the man dead in front of her, the years of being shunned, the way she was helped by Kirito in GGO and then again afterward at her house, and how Asuna had found the mother and child she had unknowingly saved that day. Again, the words started to pour out of her, with a momentum of their own, and again Suguha listened with no interruption or judgement until she had finished. When she spoke, her voice was quiet.

"You poor thing. Life is cruel, sometimes, but I'm all the more happier for you finding happiness with my brother and Asuna then. You deserve happiness, and you did nothing wrong." She took Shino's hands into her own.

"If we are sharing secrets, I have one of my own, that Kazuto knows, but nobody else." She looked at Asuna, "Asuna, I'm sorry to tell you this and please forgive me. I never thought I'd share this again."

_She looks genuinely scared now... I need to help her._

Shino squeezed her hand, getting a shocked glance and then nervous smile in return. A long silence followed, and then...

"I... loved Kazuto too. And Kirito, I mean, his online persona, before I knew they were the same. And loved like you do, not as a sister, and I knew it was wrong, and it's taken me a long time to get over it. Well, mostly... I'm sorry, Asuna, Shino, I know it's weird and I never want to get between you and him. And I really do support you together, but I guess it means I understand where unconventional love can come from."

_Well. That's a shock. But it explains how protective she gets sometimes and her reaction to my Excalibur joke. Being in love with her foster brother, her cousin, must have been really hard. Coming out like that as well. I guess courage runs in the family._

She looked as Asuna.

_She's wrong to think that we will be angry though. How could we blame her for feeling out of her control, ones we have shared? Plus Asuna is the kindest, most understanding person I know. Sadly, I don't think she can join us in this. It's miracle enough that the three of us are connected enough to work together, but cute and sweet as she is I can't see myself or Asuna with Sugua, nor imagine Kirito being okay with even that degree of incest._

_We can make sure she knows she's loved anyway._

As expected, Asuna shared her understanding and both of them thanked Suguha for her honesty and pledged their eternal friendship to her whilst Kirito looked away, slightly uncomfortable at the revelation of so many secrets that he obviously knew and that involved him.

"Suguha, one day you'll have to tell us what happened exactly before your brother rescued me in Alfheim. However, your parents are going to be back soon, so we can continue this conversation another time. Now, onto lighter things, after that surprisingly easy coming out:" (Shino nodded at this - she was amazed at how supportive Suguha was and how painless it had been, but was much more worried for how Riku would react frankly. That and their assorted parents.) "Games! who's pre-ordered the new Augma? Augmented Reality games look really interesting, and my console and copy of Ordinal Scale should come later this week, if anyone else wants to join me! Otherwise, plan is to meet in ALO on Tuesday with the others, and if you have time before that on Monday Kirito and I were going to join Sinon in GGO."

Kirito smiled at her. "It's lucky you're a top 1% student, Asuna, with all those different games going on. I'm not convinced by Augmented Reality gaming yet, I'll see how it plays out, plus I need to refine the tech for my own VR interaction projects. But I can't wait to see you in GGO, and for my trip to your parents later this month." He looked at Shino. "I'm guessing I should probably try to get them set on accepting me before we open up about adding Shino to the mix, right? But we can have a sleepover later in the week, if you are free, Shino?"

She was free, and relieved, and they pencilled in the plan to stay over at her house, before the parents came back and they all parted ways, Shino getting a long, comforting hug from Suguha as she left.

_I guess this means we have a lot in common that we didn't know about until now, both with generally suppressed feeling and ones specifically Kirito-centric. Probably why our friendship was so easy._

Shino visited her mother in her hospital ward, and after updating her on how well her life and school seemed to be going she built up the courage to break the news about her polyamorous relationship. Her mother kissed her softly, saying she was happy someone was there to love her and make her happy, whether than was two people or one, boys or girls. "I always knew you liked both, Shino. ANd I'm just glad someone can look after you the way I can't right now. You deserve it, and these 'more than friends' sound like they are very special people. Remember that they are lucky people as well, to have you."

She prepared for school, and went to bed, ready for a good week again after the derailment they had all had from Yuuki's sad demise.

That week, it was clear that Kirito and Asuna had spoken to the other girls at their school. When they met on Tuesday, Keiko seemed a little sad but made an effort to be nice to Shino - Kirito said he had spoken to her, and though she felt left out she understood that he was only ever going to be in a relationship that involved Asuna as well, and she seemed to hold no grudge. Riku was grumpier, and initially ignored Shino, but after a word from Asuna, gradually went back to her normal self. ("She's just a bit envious," Asuna whispered, "but she'll come around. You are her friend, and she knew there was no real chance with Kirito for her. She doesn't really mind either way about the three person thing. That's going to be the older generations that don't understand it, I'm afraid."). They told Agil and Klein in ALO, taking them aside as a group of three. Agil shrugged and said it wasn't his cup of coffee but it was cool whatever they wanted to do, they were his friends. Klein snarked about how lucky Kirito was until the glares from Shino and Asuna shut him up. But generally their online adventuring went on as usual, much to Shino's relief. They helped clear another level of New Aincrad and hung around as usual, whilst Klein, Lisbeth and Asuna talked about how excited they were for Ordinal Scale over ciders at the log house. Kirito remained skeptical, and worried about the danger of harm by further involving real environments into VR, given how many risks they had all faced without that extra factor. Agil didn't have the time to add another game right now, and Keiko hadn't made up her mind yet. 

_I haven't made my mind up either... escapism was one reason for picking VR up in the first place. Plus I agree with Kirito - Death Gun proved how dangerous games can be when real life gets dragged in, the more physically involved players get but with the mindset of another world where nothing has consequences, the more likely harm seems to be to occur._

Shino took a minute aside from the others to talk to Yui, who as promised by her parents seemed delighted and fascinated to have her as a "new mummy". Shino promised she would be faithful to and love and protect both her parents, and resolved to get to know Yui better over the next few weeks. She realised she had never found out how Yui had been adopted, if that were the right word here, by Kirito and Asuna, and decided she would have to ask them. The young Pixie was charming and inquisitive, and she and Shino shared some of the things they enjoyed with each other before reentering the debate about whether Augmented Reality would replace VRMMORPGs.

The day before Shino had introduced Asuna properly to GGO, and Suguha who had joined them partway through and picked up the basics as she went along with her transferred character wielding a FAMAS/Tavas hybrid assault rifle and also a back up photon sword (which she used much more conventionally than her brother and Asuna). After briefly teaching Suguha, they headed towards a dungeon to gain some experience. Kirito impressed as ever, slicing through alien monsters with ease and then deflecting any shots away from his body or any of the others when armed foes tried to attack, but the other two slotted in naturally as well. Asuna too flicked away opponent's bullets and blocked laser blasts with her blade, every bit as quick at close quarters as her boyfriend though less adept at taking shots out of the air. From time to time she would sit back with Suguha to fire with her gun. Suguha blitzed away with her weapon, using her amazing speed to dodge fire and tear through weaker enemies and distract stronger ones until Sinon could line up a shot or one of the swordfighters could get close enough to cut them apart. She used her sword only as a last resort if someone got inside her guard, using rapid footwork to open them up.

The 4 of them, with the mix of rapid fire, quick feet, bullet deflection, close combat and Sinon's flawless sniping, could work in tactical set ups, despite most of the party's relative inexperience, that both other players and monsters found hard to adapt to. Shino could not wait to see how they fared against other humans in open world campaigns, nor how they might work as a group in Squad Jam one day. Everyone enjoyed their first GGO experience, and even Suguha promised to come back and planned to bring the rest of the ALO crew. They cleared a sub-boss and picked up a lot of inventory objects which Shino would filter through later. They set another date to meet up the same time next week.

Later in the week, Asuna and the others, aside from Agil, Shino and Kirito, received their Augma devices and started playing Ordinal Scale. They seemed to be enjoying it, and Shino and Kirito had pre-booked their consoles for the next week but still not wholly convinced. Klein, Lisbeth and Asuna had already been playing a lot and rising up the ranks (Ordinal Scale ranked all the players in the area, which was Japan as it had only been released locally so far), especially Asuna whose experience, speed and dexterity plus now strong physical condition made her an incredible player. Well, Shino would eventually try the game and see what the fuss was about. 

In the meantime, she looked forward to the planned weekend sleepover at her house with Kirito and Asuna. It turned out that Kirito managed to speak to his aunt/foster mother, but not his uncle yet. It seemed she had taken it ok: she sent Shino a card with Kirito which she opened straight away.

_**Dear Shino,** _

_**Kazuto told me everything about you and him and Asuna. You must be afraid that I'll reject or blame you in some way, but please know that I am happy that you are there for my son. As long as you are all happy and conscious of the risks of putting your hearts on the line it doesn't matter to me whether he loves one or two of you. Before the Aincrad experience he was so lonely and withdrawn, but despite the trauma of that he grew, discovered friends, more than he has ever had, and love with Asuna, and has been happier than ever before. Again since meeting and then getting close to you he has become happier yet again. Not everyone will understand, but for Kazuto friendship and love and happiness have always come from unorthodox places. As long as you both make him happy and are happy in turn, you and Asuna will always have my blessing,** _

_**Best wishes,** _

_**Midori-San.** _

Reading made Shino tear up.

_Just Asuna's parents to go, really. That, and the world..._

After Asuna turned up as well, Shino served up a supper she had prepared, Yaki Udon, which even Asuna was impressed by. They watched a movie on her television, and then settled down for bed. Whilst they lay together, bodies huddled together, Kirito-Kun spoke up.

"Hey, Shino... You've been really brave with us both, sharing your dark past and secrets, plus with my sister too. I know you know some of it... but Asuna and I would like to do the same for you. No more secrets between us."

And over the next couple of hours, Shino heard about Kirito's parents' deaths and how he discovered he was adopted, about Asuna's lonely, distant upbringing at a boarding school away from her parents; about how they became trapped in the Death Game, Sword Art Online; how they met a month in, how Kirito rescued her when she collapsed in a dungeon; how he sacrificed his reputation to protect other beta testers after the first boss fight; how they worked together for twenty five floors, developing more and more feelings that they lied to themselves about and hid from each other, ignorant that the other felt the same way; how they grew as a team until philosophical differences about how they needed to approach the game split them acrimoniously, arguing about AIs and NPCs' rights, how much to work together with others and how to prioritise time in Aincrad.

Kirito explained how he had cut others off as a 'Solo player' in response, scared of caring for someone else, but how he ended up joining a Guild and doing so anyway, and watching them all die and blaming himself. He revealed he had played with a death wish, pushed to his limits to become SAO's best player due to his new, suicidal recklessness. How he slowly overcame it and started to help weaker players, and then clashed again with Asuna. Asuna shared how she had joined a Guild as Vice Leader and the stress it exerted on her, killing her happiness and driving her relentlessly as she focussed only on trying to end the game. How she had clashed with Kirito again, about the same things, until they reconnected when they taught each other about appreciating life as it came and refinding their goal respectively. How they solved crimes, saw friends die. How he killed those Laughing Coffin men. How scared she was when Kirito nearly died finishing a boss on his own. How they realised they were in love after months of denial. How each nearly died at the hands of an assassin, saved by the other, and how that drove them to marry. How Kirito had killed the assassin, and how long it took him to come to terms with that. How they found Yui, thought they'd lost her. How each had died, terrified for the other but sacrificing everything, defeating Kayaba, the game's creator. And finally how Kirito, but not Asuna, had woken up and he had had to return to VR to find her and watch her nearly raped and lost to a psychopath.

Shino in turn revealed how she had struggled with her father's death, and mother's illness, and life after she killed a man. How she had felt throughout her introduction to Kirito and the weeks afterward.

By the end of the night, there were no secrets between them, and Shino felt like a part of something greater than herself, felt completely trusted and loved for who she was.

Once the words ran out, they replaced them all with kisses. And then kisses in more intimate places, and then more, the three rewarding each others' courage with the sight of their naked, beautiful bodies and found the energy, driven by love, for some more physical activity before sleep.

 


	17. Chapter 16.5...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a half chapter of pure smut before the story picks up. It fitted with where the last chapter ended and the numbers ;)

Shino drank in the scent of the irresistible goddess lying in front of her, clothing already peeled off and in a pile alongside her own and Kirito-Kun's, sharing the intense smell and the glorious sight of her glistening sex with their lover on his knees beside her. The whimpering from Asuna as they laced delicate kisses on her thighs was a symphony, as intoxicating as her natural perfume, slowly building to a crescendo that moved Shino in a cardinal way. She kept nuzzling her groin as Kirito moved up to her mound and folds, then as she was gradually eased out as he occupied the space between Asuna's legs, she scattered little kisses further away down her legs, now at her feet, tickling, teasing then massaging as Asuna strained and moaned whilst her male soulmate pleasured her labia and clitoris and moved his hands within her wet canal, his black hair a partial eclipse over the trimmed golden brown crown over her pubis from Shino's angle.

Shino then left Asuna to the ministrations of Kirito and rewarded him for pleasuring their beloved, grasping his thrumming member with her hands and rhythmically gliding along it's length, lubricated by the dampness from Asuna as well as his own precum. As she heard Asuna's song hit its climax with Kirito mouth latching onto her nub, she mirrored the scene, taking his hot, somewhat spicy penis in her own mouth, cupping his sack and sucking, licking, enveloping the long, hard organ, using her wet maw, hungry lips and attentive tongue.

She had slid half off the bed to get into this position, the new set up allowing her to take more and more of him, but Asuna now finished with her orgasm rolled their man over, forcing Shino to disengage until he was now lying on his back, Asuna kissing his face and chest whilst he played with her own chest. Shino now levered herself back onto the bed and kissed and stroked his full testicles, teasing the shaft of his penis with her tongue and occasionally her teeth before taking as much of his sword as possible into her throat. She couldn't take it all for very long before her gag reflex started to push back, but she could feel the increasing tension and throbbing of its head so moved back to fit only that bit into her mouth and worked faster and faster until he erupted his delicious, sticky seed into her. 

Kirito grunting, Shino grinned, now almost streaming juices from her own vulva. She got up and kissed Asuna-chan ferociously, carefully biting the other girls' lower lip and moaning into it as she massaged her breasts and flicked her nipples. With surprising forcefulness, Asuna then pushed her over and kissed and worshipped her breasts with her mouth, before the overwhelming sensation of Kirito's tongue on her clitoris came out of nowhere, causing her to cry out with the wet velvet sensation. With some orientation, they ended up with Kirito half-sat up, head half-supported by the head of the bed, and Shino's knees at his shoulders as she practically sat on his face whilst he relished her private parts with his mouth, hot breath adding to the burning sensation there. With some difficulty he repositioned her knees and freed his arms to squeeze her rear cheeks and then firmly but non-aggressively pull them apart.

Just in time for Asuna to add her tongue to Shino's other hole, her wrinkled star, licking and pushing, applying some additional pressure to the area with one finger. The build up of attention and pleasure to both erogenous areas was incredible, setting off a slow build, ever-soaring orgasm that shuddered through Shino's very core. She made no effort to hold back, crying out loud as she fondled one of her own breasts and Kirito's hair, drowning in the ardour but also the wholesome atmosphere of pure love they all exuded, alongside the heavy cloud of pheromones and the mixing odour of their arousal. She kept moaning out as both her lovers kept kissing her most sensitive spaces, Asuna now also pumping two fingers inside her slick front-passage.

Eventually she collapsed into a spent coma of delight, passively lying back to enjoy the sheer art available to all her senses now that her girlfriend mounted the cock of her boyfriend, not needing to change position, riding up and down:

The guttural, viscerally moving groans of Kirito and the mewling and plaintive cries of Asuna that spoke to her soul. The wet slaps of their bodies smacking together.

The glorious sight of her bouncing up and down on him, their pelvis rocking together, drips of sweat trickling down her pointed breasts, hair strewn like a golden-brown halo over her angelic face whilst his night-capped, pretty one was locked in a closed-eyed picture of ecstasy.

The rich scents from all three of them, Shino aware in the background of her own subtle, tangy yoghurt aroma, with a hint of copper, but more so of the kind of herbal, earthy fragrance of Asuna and the animal musk of Kirito, all smells she was already able to recognise instantly.

The wetness across her entire groin and now the inside of her upper legs and the numb soreness of her sensitive nipples and clitoris, plus the warmth Asuna's tongue had left on her backside now turning to cooling breeze.

And the taste of salty, umami semen left from Kirito's thing. 

She realised that she missed the unique, complex flavour of Asuna.

As she recovered, she watched Asuna finish and go limp over Kirito, and flop off him. He hadn't ejaculated yet, but she ignored the temptation of his hard member for now and took her own meal from between Asuna's parted legs, sating that craving that had appeared out of nowhere. At the other girl's request, she manoeuvred herself so that her own sex was right above Asuna's mouth and moaned as she copied Shino, sucking at her bud and exploring her vagina just as she did the same to the elfin beauty. To nobody's surprise, Asuna came yet again very quickly, the urgency of her orgasms one thing that Shino thought she might not ever get over her envy of.

Whilst they continued their mutual joy in the "69" position, Kirito crawled over and lightly and quickly spanked each of them on her rears, adding to the jolts of pleasure, before teasing Shino's lower lips with his hard prick, silently asking permission. Permission she gave with her very soul.

He wasn't wearing a condom today, but Shino knew that today she was definitely in the safe bit of her cycle, and she wanted to experience him raw and uncovered inside her. 

_Maybe next time I should do the unfashionable thing and take the pill... but that isn't a decision to take lightly, perhaps barrier protection is the better way for now._

"Ah! Do it, Kirito-Kun, put it in me!"

He did, Asuna now moving to her front, sat in front of her and kissing her face and neck as Shino knelt forward, Kirito taking her from behind. He was gentle at first but built into a tempo, beat matched by the harmony of moans from each of them, tenor Kirito, alto Shino and mezzo Asuna all making noise.

Blessed by the attention from the two people she loved, Shino didn't take long to climax again, the sensation from his angle fantastic yet completely different to the first time Kirito had been inside her, hitting another sensitive spot within her that filled her with lightning and liquid fire, less depth but more precision if you like.

Pretty much as soon as she exploded, so did Kirito, the feeling of him bursting inside her another wonderful new sensation, unable to feel the liquid when it came out of him (though now he had pulled out, she felt it seeping out after his penis) but acutely aware of the pulsating and juddering of his sword within her sheath. She slumped over, almost perfectly contented.

"Hey! I didn't get any of your... um... stuff, today, Kirito-Kun!" Asuna fake-pouted, a touch of mischief in her eyes. "I guess I'd better take it from Sinonon then..."

And the remarkable experience shared, for the first time ever, in her bed, ended with one final orgasm as her beautiful girlfriend licked out the seed of her beautiful boyfriend, cleaning her thoroughly with her tongue like a cat, until finally their sleepover, this beautiful sharing of secrets, succumbed into actual sleep, all 3 exhausted and eventually set to wake up naked strewn together in the morning.


	18. Ordinal Scale

The next day, Saturday, Shino had to drag the other two out of bed, Kirito lazing being no surprise but Asuna seemingly infected by his langour. They were due to meet the rest of the gang for brunch. 

_I'm still kind of nervous about how everyone is going to treat us when we are all together, especially the other girls. Still, it's not like we are going to parade our relationship in front of all their faces. So far my new friends have been loyal no matter what._

After being hurried into getting dressed by Shino, they all left and arrived at a cafe, not the Dicey Cafe on this occasion. Agil was managing to take the day off with his wife, whom Shino was meeting for the first, leaving the cafe in the hands of a friend.

It was great to all be together, and apart from a little coolness from Rika, everyone treated her the same as before. The plan after the meal and catching up was over was for those who had their Augma already to play some Ordinal Scale together. Shino was keen to see what it looked like in action from the outside if nothing else, though she was worried that if everyone got too into it, it would be hard to keep spending so much time together split across ALO, GGO and the new game. 

 

It turned out one of the reasons Asuna and Rika and Keiko all had an Augma so early was because their Survivor School had, as part of an arrangement with the creators - maybe because Ordinal Scale borrowed heavily from Sword Art Online in content as well as mechanics- offered a free one for every student.

That didn't really do much to set Shino's mind at ease. Something seemed off about the whole thing, especially given everything that she had seen and heard happen with previous VRMMORPGS. She guessed Kirito must share that ominous feeling as he hadn't claimed his free console yet, though it sounded like he planned to.

The game itself seemed fun. Apparently the story was that the world was being invaded from another dimension and players had to defeat monsters and collect materials in the "real world" augmented by the Augma, in order to help repel the invasion. The monsters were a mix but Asuna said some were from Aincrad from what she could tell. There was a rumour that SAO bosses turned up occasionally, worth a mountain of points if you defeated them. Apparently you could pick to use close combat weapons or guns, so Shino would be able to play her style of approach, so there was that. Players were ranked against those in their area (currently the game was only on release in Japan anyway) based on how they achieved those objectives, and were rewarded with extra powers in game if they were near the top (an unfair and unnecessary inverted handicap, in Shino's eyes, though the SAO group seemed to accept it naturally - that had been an inherent consequence of how that game worked). What you could do in game relied on that power as well as things like reflexes, but also, as you were moving in reality, your body's quickness and fitness.

Suguha had been too busy with Kendo to try the game out yet, and as she didn't have the option of a free Augma, hadn't gotten around to even buying one. However, based on her ALO skills and her real life condition, Shino wagered she would be the best of all of them in this game world. As it stood, the speed, poise, tactical mind and now recovered and fit body of Asuna meant she was excelling even compared to the rest of the city. She wasn't top though.

She couldn't see a lot of what was happening when they played the game, all the action happening via the console, though it looked like a work out for the bunch of them. By the end of their session, she sensed Kirito-Kun was close to caving in and getting the game.

_I think I will too... But I'll be careful. I'm sure something dodgy is going on here._

After a few hours, they all parted ways to get things done. It was set to be a busy week.

Next weekend, well, Friday evening (the 24th), a few of them planned to meet up again for another Augmented Reality session. Shino couldn't make that, sadly, with a visit to Kyouji planned and then an evening of work in her part time job at her local restaurant and bar. Then there was the upcoming concert for the new virtual singer (the first of her kind, Shino believed), YUNA who was Ordinal Scale's "mascot". She had appeared a few weeks before the game to hype its launch, and her music was pretty accessible J-Pop. The SAO Survivor School Students also received free tickets to her first, the first AR, full concert next week. It was being seen as a huge deal, although several impromptu small concerts had popped up across the city via the Augma. Shino couldn't afford a ticket outright, but not wanting to lose out on an evening with all her friends she had entered a draw for free tickets.

In addition to this, Suguha had another important Kendo event coming up, Kirito was meant to be meeting Asuna's parents fairly soon.

Knowing she was due to be busy both on GGO and trying to do some more work to save up some money for future schooling, Shino kissed her lovers goodbye, leaving Kirito with a snarky one liner, and waved farewell to the others, plus giving good luck to Suguha for her training camp.

The week passed in a blur. It turned out that she actually managed to win two tickets in the draw, and so she couldn't help but fixate on the upcoming joy of spending that evening with the most important people in her life. That gave her the drive to get through a week where she managed to smash her schoolwork every day, work several hours each evening and then get in some practice on GGO before bed. She was exhausted, but it was going to be worth it. She also got an Augma with Ordinal Scale as part of the prize alongside the tickets, so resolved that once she had an evening off on Sunday she would try out the basics of everyone's favourite new game.

She didn't get much chance at all to see her friends that week, nevermind spend any intimate time with Asuna and Kirito both of whom didn't get a chance to go onto GGO. She did keep in touch by message though, and managed to get online on ALO in the log cabin on Friday night to find out how things had been going. Their meet up on Friday had turned out to be eventful - they'd set off to fight an old SAO boss, and had been joined by one of OS's best players, Eiji. However, Asuna had been the one to finish the boss off.

When Asuna spoke about Eiji, she did so with a pensive look on her perfect face.

_I wonder what she isn't saying? Does she know something about this guy? I'll ask her later, she clearly doesn't want to share in front of the whole group._

It turned out that Agil had won tickets too, which surprised Shino who had thought that he wasn't interested in the whole fad. Klein hadn't, and neither had Suguha but the latter was going to be in the middle of her camp, so she ended up promising her spare ticket to Klein. Agil should bring his wife. Then Shino had to log off to get ready for the next day at work. After she did, as she got ready for bed, she thought about everything that had happened, unable to shake the strange feeling that there was too much coincidence here.

_I've got a bad feeling about this Eiji guy... but I forgot to catch Asuna and ask her more about him! I'll try after the weekend. Plus, on Sunday I'll get the hang of this game - I have a foreboding sense that things are going to get more serious and I don't want to be a weak link._

She was really busy and knackered through the weekend of work, and went straight to bed on Saturday without checking her messages at all. When she finished on Sunday after lunch, finally free to try her new device out, she found she had a missed call and a bunch of messages from Kirito.

_Something has happened_. A knife to her gut.

Specifically something had happened to Klein, who had ended up being attacked, both virtually and physically, by this Eiji, his arm broken, and then weirdly thrown to the boss they'd been fighting and allowed his avatar to "die". Eiji had taken out his whole Guild as well.

_That's way too seriously to take this kind of game... But then, I've seen how dangerously people can play. If Eiji will commit assault, is he waiting to become a new Death Gun?_

She couldn't let that happen.

After checking in with Kirito, who seemed to have a similar idea and had now picked up his Augma and intended to enter the fray once he had adapted to the game, she did the same.

She made an Avatar similar to her usual Sinon. Being AR not VR, it used her actual face but that was basically Sinon with brown hair and dark eyes anyway, and she took a costume similar in cut and colour to her GGO suit. The game let her use a sniper rifle, though not one based on any real gun as far as she could tell, unlike GGO. There was no real difference in how she used it. In theory, due to the lack of augmented aiming, it would rely on her true coordination more but hours of GGO seemed to have sharpened that: she found firing over the mere hundreds of metres that the real world set up realistically allowed to be incredibly easy, and didn't really miss the assisted aim once she got used to making unassisted shots.

_This will be useful in BoB - if you don't put your finger on the trigger you can aim like this in GGO: you get no assist but also no prediction lines. It's an extra trick up my sleeve, if I practise it there as well._

She was happy that she could compete in this game world, now. And she was going to make sure that this Eiji and this game wouldn't be a threat to the ones she loved. They had been through more than enough.

That evening, Asuna and Kirito were due to have a date, which she unfortunately couldn't make due to it being her prearranged time to visit her mother, and then yet another work shift after that (she knew she was working a lot, but another girl leaving had left shifts available and she needed the money). It left her a little sad and a tiny bit envious. She knew they both loved her but still wished she had more of their shared history, that epic saga of Aincrad they had revealed to her just over a week ago. However, to make up for it, each of them had agreed and planned a date the week after alone with her, the thought of which made her giddy _._

_I can barely remember the scared girl who couldn't talk to people and had to live two separate lives just to survive a few months ago_.

She headed off to her mother's ward and then work, intentionally focusing on that for now, letting the giddiness grow better for the delayed satisfaction.

However, it seemed from her messages that the date evening had been chaos. Kirito and Asuna both revealed the date had gone well, as expected, but then things had gotten strange. Asuna revealed that she thought, and told Kirito, that she thought she recognised Eiji from SAO, from her old Guild.

_This has 'Death Gun repeated' all over it._

She was worried now. She read on, and found that they had then met Keiko and Rika for another SAO boss encounter in Yebisu Palace Gardens, and had met Eiji who refused to answer whether he was the one Asuna recognised, but hinted that he had been in SAO. Then the boss had been a much more advanced one than it was meant to, and they had been sabotaged by Eiji, all leading to Asuna sacrificing herself to protect Keiko and 'dying' in game. Kirito was furious, Asuna just confused, but Eiji had escaped before either could properly confront him.

Anxious, she went to bed and slept fitfully. She knew something else would happen, so she wasn't surprised (but was no less dismayed) to wake to messages from Kirito and Asuna. Both scared.

**_Sinonon, Kirito-Kun is taking me to the hospital today. I'm really worried, though I'm trying to be brave. Since the incident last night, I've been struggling to remember Aincrad at all. 2 years of my memories with Kirito, memories that shaped me, fading like dreams. And my dreams have all been nightmares. I know you are busy back at school this morning and this is too late notice for you to come really, and please don't worry too much about me, but I just needed someone to know how scared I am. I love you. A. Xoxoxoxo_ **

**_Hey Shino. I'm sure Asuna messaged you about the hospital. She woke me at 2am scared telling me she was losing her memories of SAO. I'm going to find out why, but I'm worried. They mean a lot to her - she's always said that she cherishes them despite all the bad things that happened. I'll update you as to what we find, but this evening I'm going to go, with my Augma, to where the battle was last night and try to track down any clues with Yui. I'll tell you if I find anything. I love you both. See you tomorrow after school. Kirito. X_ **

Reading those messages from her loved ones filled her with sorrow. And then steel and determination.

_Nobody hurts my friends. Nobody takes from my girlfriend, scares my boyfriend. Kirito isn't the only one who can fight here. This is what strength is - choosing to fight. I choose to fight. I'll see you in Ordinal Scale, Kirito. Tonight. And we'll solve this together._

After her first lesson, she took out her phone and called.

"Yamamoto-San? Sorry to call at such short notice. It's me, Asada Shino. I'm very sorry, but I can't work the extra shift tonight any more. I... have somewhere else I need to be. Someone I love needs my help."

 


	19. Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy time in my life and I've tried to balance a few stories. This one always has the longest chapters and the most work to make sure I'm sticking as closely to canon as the concept allows, so it's always the hardest to produce in the spare time I've had!
> 
> Will try to be less of a gap leading to the next one, which again is where we divert/expand more from the anime/Light Novel script, which is exciting

Prepared for battle, Augma headset ready and dressed for mobility, Shino waited for Kirito (unbeknownst to him) at the place where he'd said Asuna had been defeated.

 

_This is it. If there's any clue as to how Asuna-Chan's memories got lost, and any clue to getting them back, we'll find it here, surely. And if Eiji turns up, I'll blow his virtual head off._

Kirito had messaged earlier that day after Asuna's doctor's appointment. It seemed it was just her SAO memories she had lost, but Shino knew those were part of what had made Asuna who she was. If Shino lost her memories, terrifying as they were, of BoB, of Death Gun, of being sure she was about to die twice, would she even be the same person she was now? She'd start from that place, sure, but underneath could she be the stronger person she was without remembering, being able to draw on the journey that had shaped it? Would she even give up the worst day of her life in that post office if the payment was that she lost a part of herself? If she did, would that be choosing not to struggle, cowardice?

She had no answers, this was deep philosophy and another day would have made a fascinating conversation between the three of them. As it stood, she knew Asuna explicitly treasured every memory of Aincrad, the hard ones that made her so so strong and brave as well as the cherished happy ones that she always managed to focus on. Stealing those, as Kirito believed had happened after speaking to the doctor who described similar symptoms in other SAO Survivors who had been killed in game by SAO bosses (though it was unclear whether others had been interfered with by this Eiji) was stealing something precious to her. Worse it might even be stealing a part of her. In Shino's eyes that was tantamount to a rape of sorts, and that was unforgivable.

_He'll rue the day he hurt her. We'll see to that._

She waited a while until she spotted him- Kirito not Eiji. He spotted her as she hung out in his vision, and seemed surprised though pleasantly so. Predictably he half-heartedly tried to talk her out of helping, but as usual caved into her logic: he'd learnt a lot since their arguments on that day facing Death Gun, and he was smart enough that one of the things he'd learnt was that she was usually right. In this case it was pretty obvious anyway: facing SAO bosses as SAO Survivors seemed to exclusively put SAO memories at risk. She didn't have any of those so this time, unlike last time they had played together with real stakes, she had much less to lose than Kirito. She knew better than to test his stubbornness by suggesting he leave it all to her however. When Asuna was in danger, there was no way that was going to happen, and she knew their chances were better with two of them anyway.

_I'll have to protect him then, like he protected me when I wouldn't give up helping in BoB. If anyone comes within arm reach of him, even looks like they might interfere with his fight against the boss who is meant to turn up, I'll wipe them out. And if the boss is going to hurt him, I'll throw myself in the way. Nobody is going to hurt my man. Except maybe me, with appropriate consent._

They didn't have to wait long, though the opponent that showed up was not the one expected. A gigantic boar, Kirito explained this was a higher level boss than rumoured, a pattern seemingly repeated in other sites in the city according to Yui. This was a change, previously the bosses had mirrored their approximate boss room locations from SAO.

The change took a few players by surprise and early on one SAO Survivor look a hit. Yui said she could see something leaving him, presumably his memory, and went to investigate. Shino and Kirito took care of the boss.

She stayed back, making sure Eiji, this Nautilus from Asuna's old SAO Guild (if Asuna were correct) didn't put Kirito in danger, whilst firing potshots at the boss. Kirito, who she knew had been involved in every boss fight up to Floor 25 in the original game (and many after), knew what to do, the attack pattern and how to inflict most damage. But he was being too reckless. He was being so aggressive, presumably over what had happened to Asuna, that he was piling on damage like a one man team, but she could see that eventually this approach would leave him vulnerable. This was unlike how he had fought bosses with her in ALO.

_It's the points. The more damage he deals, the more points he gets and he thinks a better rank will help him somehow._

She'd make sure he dealt the finishing blow then.  
Eventually he did leave himself open, just as the Boar started to (someone on the development team must have had a laugh about this) chain attacks together from him chain. Luckily, Shino knew how to deal with that.

Timing it just so that it would stun the boss whilst Kirito was in striking range, she fired off two perfect fatal bullets, one killing off the attack, the second leaving the boss dazed for a split second. She knew that was all Kirito-Kun needed, and she was right.

"Thanks, Shino-Chan, you really saved me there", he said walking away from the fractal cloud formed by the disintegrating pigman.

"Glad to help. Kirito, you have friends, you shouldn't try to do this thing all alone: you know that right?"

He did, but he hadn't wanted to risk his other friends' precious memories.

"I'd kind of forgotten you were never in Aincrad, Sinon, after all we've been through".

It was hard to believe so much had happened so fast. Either way, she was unique amongst his friends in that Eiji couldn't take anything from her, and she was going to use that to help Kirito whether he wanted it or not.

Suddenly, he was distracted, rushing away after a face in the crowd, some girl he had seen before when Asuna had been hit. Once she caught up with him, he told her what he thought: this girl, some aspect of Ordinal Scale, was trying to help them. She'd told him to search an area to which she'd pointed when he'd seen her before, and did the same now. Taking both vectors together, Yui, returned from chasing the memory which had entered a protected site she couldn't get into right now, worked out whether the lines joined.

The Touto Institute of Technology, where the developer of the Augma, Professor Shigemura Tetsuhiro, worked.

This fitted with where the memory had been heading as well. Not suspicious at all.

Irritatingly, Shino couldn't really get out of school tomorrow, so she'd be letting Kirito investigate that lead by himself and then finding out what he'd discovered later. In the meantime, she'd train some more. She was going to be Kirito's shield, like she had been today.

When Kirito updated her the next day, he had a lot to share. He called from Asuna's family house, which he was visiting being near the Institute, and Shino asked him to pass on her love to Asuna, a little envious that they were spending this afternoon together. Before that, he had attended a lecture by Professor Shigemura, then confronted him about the possibility of such a scan stealing memories. The man hadn't let much slip, but had mentioned that he couldn't see why people wouldn't want to lose their memories of SAO.

_This guy must be involved._

Kirito shared that opinion, apparently. The girl he had seen, telling him to come here, apparently shared her face with a photo on the professor's desk. One that a quick call to Kikuota, Shino's favourite slightly creepy government agent, confirmed could be the professor's daughter, Yuuna, who died in SAO early on.

_So. Probable motive - tick, unclear exactly what but that's a clear link to SAO Survivors. Opportunity- tick, the publicity of free Augma devices which he designed going to all SAO Survivors. Means- probable tick, he's the person most likely to be able to use the device he made to steal memories. Looks like we have our villain._

In addition, at Asuna's house it seemed Kirito had found her diary. From his messages, the loss of her memories was having a profound effect on her. She was worried she might lose more memories, lose her memories of Kirito altogether and maybe lose the ability to make memories.

That sounded like dementia, having a part of your mind fail you and a part of your person taken away, locked in with the realisation that you were losing yourself. Sometimes Shino's mother's mind, though her illness was different, worked a little that way. She was terrified of losing Shino, she said, but also of losing her identity altogether.

Shino hated Ordinal Scale, hated the professor, hated Eiji with a white hot passion. Genuine rage filled her soul. If they thought that they were just taking away memories, even bad memories, they understood nothing of what it meant to be human: memories good or bad were what made you who you were.

Leaving her two lovers alone to comfort each other, Shino headed out to uplevel some more. She was going to need to be as strong as she could to support Kirito and help win Asuna's memories back. If they could be taken away in a discrete manner, as Yui seemed to imply, then there was hope they could be regained.

After a few battles, helping her let off some steam, she found herself accosted close to her home, by a man with grey hair and cold eyes.

"Miss, you and your friends need to stop interfering in our affairs. SAO was an atrocity, we did the Lightning Flash a favour in sparing her from her memories there."

Ah. This would be Eiji then.

"If you really believe that, you don't understand people at all. I've had my share of bad memories too, though we both know I was never in that game. Once upon a time I wished I could forget them completely, when I was weak and afraid, but I learnt better. They shaped me, and confronting the worst of them makes me stronger. Maybe you're still afraid."

His stare hardened further. Shino didn't care. This man was a coward whatever else he was.

"Now are you going to give me back Asuna's memories? We both know I haven't got any memories of Aincrad to steal away."

"I'm only here to send a warning. Stop interfering in our affairs, you and the Black Swordsman, or bad things will happen. I don't need your memories, but I can still hurt you. Didn't you see what I did to your friend Klein?"

The boiled off fury started to simmer again. _The bastard_. The background rational voice she had noted that he'd said 'Klein' though- it seemed likely that Asuna was right and this man knew them from SAO. She probably had his identity nailed. Which meant if it came down to it, Kikuota could probably track and arrest this guy with the SAO playername database. She also noticed a little port-like machine on his neck.

_Could that be linked to how he steals memories?_

"You disgust me. You assaulted my friend, stole from the minds of several, and now you threaten me? I'm a 16 year old girl, and you're going to beat me up. No. We aren't that isolated here. I'm going to run, and if you lay a hand on me, I'm going to scream 'rape'. And if you actually catch me and hurt me, you know what? You'd better kill me, because I will come back. I've been moments from being murdered, helpless, I've been moments from being molested, there's nothing you can scare me with."

Now she looked him straight in the eyes and in the soul.

"And I've killed a man in self-defence before. I don't want to do it again."

That shocked him, and he made no effort to follow as she backed off. As soon as she was around the corner of the street, she ran all the way home, adrenaline thrashing her heart, shaking all over. It had been a lie that she wasn't afraid, so she had borrowed Sinon's mask from the past to hide her terror.

Immediately she messaged Kirito to check he was ok and to say she loved him. She didn't mention this meeting - it just made it more likely he'd do something stupid and risky.

Instead she spent an hour on the phone with Asuna, Kirito having left her house to go home. Her, she told everything, promised to keep their man safe. Asuna, as expected, was comforting despite her own fears, calming her down by listening, the warmth in her voice a tonic to Shino's stress.

And she would. She had been very afraid, but that's the only thing she had lied about. She would take Eiji down, by whatever means necessary.


	20. And then, a lightning flash

Later that evening, Shino had her hands full between two equally vital goals: firstly to help protect her boyfriend help him retrieve the memories stolen from SAO Survivors, if that were even possible; and secondly to support her girlfriend who had had such memories stolen and was now in delicate emotional place.

 

At this moment in time she was in place to do the latter, having been invited to karaoke by Lisbeth and Silica to help cheer her up. This wasn't usually her kind of thing, but the other girls were so enthusiastic for it and Asuna seemed so unsure of herself since losing her Aincrad memories that it had been an easy decision to agree to go. However, she was taking regular breaks to get updates from Kirito via FaceTime. 

A few hours ago, after Shino had been accosted by Eiji and told Asuna what had happened, it seemed that Kirito had received a more benign visitor - the girl who had led him to the lecture at the Institute of Technology, the one who it had been revealed later was the Augma's creator's dead daughter, Yuuna, or presumably some virtual reincarnation or memory of her. Given the visual similarity and the names (and the fact that she sang for him), Kirito was sure that the virtual singer and Ordinal Scale mascot YUNA, whose songs were the majority of the tracks being sung by the other girls right now in this karaoke studio, was either the same reincarnation or based on Yuuna. This time the girl had somehow given him a vision of the original Aincrad (maybe using the Augma but neither Kirito nor Shino had any idea of how that might work) and said that he could recover the lost memories if he managed to become the number 1 ranked player of Ordinal Scale.

This might be a red herring, it might be a trap or it might even be a daydream or hallucination for all they knew. But if it was a chance, they had to take it. 

 

Shino and Lisbeth updated the missing member of their gang, Suguha, on what had been happening (Shino admitting that Kirito had taken on bosses despite advice not to, and that she had helped, but keeping quiet about their plan to keep on doing so- it would just worry everyone) and Suguha offered to help Kirito train using some kendo techniques. Given she was the one of them with the most real life martial arts experience and in peak physical shape, Shino really wished she were here: she had no memories to lose in battle either, and frankly would have been the best choice for getting to number 1, once you took her online skills into the equation as well. But she was miles away, and it was up to the two of them.

 

Asuna seemed a lot happier now, and Shino had done her bit singing a few rock songs between all the J-Pop the others were enjoying (mostly YUNA though Silica also went through a bit of Kanzaki Elsa and Asuna sang a Haruna Luna song). After giving her lover a kiss and a hug and leaving her in the much more song-friendly arms of Lisbeth and Silica, she ran out to help their boyfriend, making excuses that she had to work.

She knew that Kirito would have been fighting recklessly as soon as he received the challenge of becoming the top ranked player. Now he was fighting in earnest, not as a game, and she knew that changed things completely. It would make him almost unstoppable, a force capable of breaking the rules of the game in SAO and beating bosses single-handedly, taking on an entire Guild or impossible quest in ALO by himself and fighting veterans in GGO with no experience of his own even when his life might be on the line, but he would also be rash. She had seen this too, the way he risked himself in BoB, but had also heard it when he told her about his SAO past, willing to sacrifice his life. Without any help, it was inevitable that he would push things a little too far one time, so she would be that help. The steady-handed, cool-minded Sinon. He didn't know that she'd be helping him - she didn't want to add another distraction for him, and she was pretty sure he was so engrossed in the job that he wouldn't notice unless she made things very obvious.

When she arrived he was fighting bosses in a frenzy, already racing through the rankings, but, as she feared, entirely absorbed in the task. He was pushing aside other players to protect them, though they were getting irritated, and fighting right on the edge of safety. So she gave him a margin. Boss after boss she kept lined up in her sights, and if it looked like he might be taken by surprise after attacking left him open, or another monster stuck up on him, or anything looked like it could cause him damage as he became more and more tired after winning battle after battle and racing across the city to find the next one, she fired. Shot projectiles out of the air, stopped physical attacks midway with the stunning effect of her bullet, killed lesser monsters outright... she didn't dare miss a shot, so she didn't waste one and didn't let herself get distracted for a second. 

She had never seen Kirito this much "in the zone", not even when he fought for their lives in BoB, but she had, despite all her focus and skill and success in GGO, never felt like this herself either. She understood what that zone was now, everything slowing down for her and her focus both wide and yet precise, everythijg seeming bigger and closer. She couldn't afford to make mistakes but instead of suffocating her, that pressure liberated her and she let her mind and instincts work together to achieve perfection. 

A couple of hours later, deep into the night, a dozen bosses were beaten by Kirito whose rank had shot right up to 9th, and as many complications had been taken out by Sinon's sniper rifle. She had worked hard running and hitching lifts to catch up with his pace and his bike, only managing due to helpful interludes from Suguha helping Kirito with martial arts advice, and nearly missed a moment against a shadowy wolf boss right at the end, as she arrived on the back of a stranger's moped, where Kirito was trapped by damaging spikes, health in the red. Her heart had stopped for a second, but she held her composure to arm her gun, aim and fire on the move and hit the boss right in the flank, breaking apart its attack enough for Kirito to break free and finish it off, and finally get into the top 10 places. 

As soon as he had, Shino's least favourite SAO Survivor, Eiji himself, stepped out of the shadows to congratulate him.

_No surprise to see you here, you piece of shit. Give me any reason to take you out, I beg you..._

She was too far away to hear their conversation, but got herself quickly into cover where she could keep her sight on Eiji without him seeing her. It wasn't a real weapon and couldn't truly hurt him, but if he tried to start Ordinal Scale based combat, she wouldn't hesitate to wipe his character out. It took most of her resolve not to shoot him right now. 

Whatever exchange they had riled Kirito up and he charged at Eiji who just flipped him onto the floor before exchanging more words, after which Eiji slipped away. The entire time she had her finger on the trigger, fighting every urge to shoot him and perfectly ready to do so if he made so much as another move towards Kirito. _Silly man, should have known better than to rush in blindly_. This was when she decided to make herself known.

"Thank gods that creep went away. What did he want?" 

Kirito indicated a moment of surprise at her presence with his eyes, but didn't ask why she was here. There was no need, they both knew they shared the same goal and the same reason to care so much about it. 

"Hey Shino, you kept that quiet this whole time? He said to meet him at YUNA's concert if I want Asuna's memory back. It's clearly a trap, but I'm going anyway."

"Be careful of him. You know what he did to Klein, and I didn't want to distract you by telling you before but earlier this evening he threatened me. He turned up in the street and told me not to get involved and hinted he'd use physical force to stop me, I had to bluff my way out and run."

Kirito's face darkened, and she could see a painful lesson there for Eiji, embarrassing fall that Kirito had just suffered or not.

"Also, when he was up close I noticed a device thing on his neck. I'm pretty sure it's helping him somehow, whether with his fighting or stealing memories."

Kirito nodded. "I saw it too, when he tossed me just then. I shouldn't have rushed him so hastily, but he just makes me so angry."

She could empathise with that, although she noted that she had managed to hold herself back from doing anything stupid.

"Remember that if it comes to fighting, it's weird that it's there. You can beat him if you treat it like a boss fight, be tactical and don't charge. Be cold, not hot, passion won't beat him but composure will because in teh end you have more to win and lose here and you are better than him, as a fighter maybe but as a man certainly. Well done for all that boss-slaying, I only had to step in a few times. Remember you can afford not to take things quite so fast - if you lose yourself as well, I'll do my best to go after the bastards that took a piece of you and Asuna away, but please don't make me, don't leave me alone because you can't calm down for 30 minutes."

He nodded, guilt in his features. With Asuna's memories taken, he had probably felt that he had little to lose even if he failed, but he needed to remember that if he lost then it would affect Shino too. And she had already lost enough in this life.

"If you go to face Eiji tomorrow, I am happy to go with you to cover your back for any traps, or to cover your back figuratively and distract the others. But remember that you aren't alone. Asuna may not be herself right now, but she's still there for you. I'm there, in whatever way you need me. Suguha is there even if she's far away. The other girls are here, though you probaby don't want to risk their memories. You don't have to do things alone."

With a passionate kiss, both pulling their hands through each other's hair and gently groping body parts, they parted ways. Tomorrow was the concert, and Kirito wasn't number 1 yet, but it sounded like he would get his chance there and then. Shino went off to bed and in theory Kirito too, though she suspected he would train a bit longer

The next school day was unremarkable, Kirito apparently actually turning up for the first time this week and Shino cruising through classes mind almost entirely focussed on what might happen this evening. They all met up at a cafe close to the stadium at which the concert was to be held, The New National Stadium. Even Agil joined them, though his wife once again was stuck minding the store ( _seems a tad unfair to me_ , thought Shino), and everyone was very excited. Even Asuna seemed distracted from her recent anxiety, so the only tension was in Shino's face and Kirito as they entered the stadium to find their seats.

Somewhere along the way, Kirito slipped off. Apparently to use the toilets, but Shino knew better. She understood then that he was doing this task alone, and kept to her task of distracting the others. This didn't last long before YUNA's admittedly impressive vocals and light-show started. 

_Given that she's some sort of AI, it's impressive how natural her voice sounds... nearly enough to forget that one I love is fighting for Asuna's memories right now. But I trust Kirito. If he stays calm, he will win this._

After the opening song, she checked her phone, easily done whilst everyone else was waving glowsticks in the dark. Kirito had messaged her, short and sweet.

" **It's done. Eiji mad. Beat him. They are going to scan everyone in the stadium and take their memories to try to resurrect Yuuna. Could destroy their minds. Don't let anyone go into Ordinal Scale. I'm running. Will call K** "

_Shit. That was already happening, audience members being dragged into the AR world to take part in the event, and bosses were already appearing..._

Hopefully Kikuota could apprehend the professor before he could scan everyone. In the meantime, she would do her part. She entered Ordinal Scale just as Kirito arrived. Kikuota and his men were taking care of the professor. The scan would probably cause major brain damage, but any SAO Survivor losing to these bosses would also suffer memory loss so their role was twofold: to stop any players being killed by bosses and to get them to evacuate the building.

The latter was hard, as the audience saw the boss battles as part of the concert and nobody wanted to leave. The former they all chipped in on, except Asuna who didn't feel up to returning to the game, still haunted by what had happened to her. The easiest way was to take the bosses out themselves, and in a party of 5 they were pretty well set to do so, especially Shino and Kirito who were used to this pattern after their hours of work last night. 

 

They tried and tried to clear the arena and killed several bosses, Silica and Lisbeth shielding other players whilst Agil defended attacks, Kirito piled on damaged and she broke up their attacks with shots from the back. Eventually one terrifying example, a floating grim reaper, came close to landing a blow on them when YUNA herself intervened, creating a shield and asking Kirito to beat the final boss of SAO using the Augma as a device to full dive back into that game. Before they went, Kirito gave Asuna a ring- one Shino knew was a reflection of the one he had given her in SAO, one that he had hold Shino that he had planned to give Asuna properly at a meteor shower next week in response to a promise they had made in SAO. She felt no jealousy, couldn't feel any towards the girl she loved just as much as the man they shared.

This is him pledging to that promise, that memory. Pledging himself to her. But I know he also is pledging himself to me. I don't have that shared history yet, but I will share their future. First up is getting back Asuna's past.

"Link start!"

Said by 5 as 1. And in they dove, a full dive for the first time in Shino's life. 

Straight into the action. They faced a monstrous queen, all white and many limbed. An Incarnation Of Radius. 

It was devastating, and unrelenting. With only 5 of them, they tried to flank it, covering each other, Kirito attacking, Agil the tank, Lisbeth sneaking from the side, Silica distracting and supporting and Shino fired shot after shot at the beast's attacks and what looked like weak spots, figuring that in a game that wasn't designed to have projectile weapons her rifle should be an advantage. But there were too few of them, they could do too little damage too slowly and eventually she shepherded them all together and pinned them down, all but Shino who was helpless, firing from too far away to get to them in time, shots doing too little damage to save them, though she kept trying.

_So this is how our mission ends. If we die, will this count as death in OS, where we just fail to save the day, or will we die like in SAO?_

Then, there was a lightning flash.

 


	21. Memory Regained

There was a lightning flash. But no heralding thunder, a silent bolt of death from above.

A streak of blood from the monster's head. A figure that dealt a blow with blistering speed, unmatchable speed, before catching a falling Silica out of the air.

SAO's second greatest player entered the fray. Yuuki Asuna. Facing her fears, and putting herself on the line. And Shino's heart soared with hope and love.

_No. We are going to win, together._

She kept firing, even if she was only a distraction, wishing that Ordinal Scale hadn't intentionally weakened maximum gun power, never missing the Queen's head, as Asuna, SAO's famous commander, the second in command of its biggest guild and the de facto leader in battle, organised their party and then more players joined the battle. Suddenly the boss was frozen with magic as faces Shino vaguely knew from ALO and even GGO appeared, led by the charging Suguha and Yui. Some she recognised from Asuna and Kirito's stories, like a brown haired girl with whiskers on her face and a claw weapon who must be Argo, their old friend, and some from reputation like the leaders of the Sylph and Cait Sith nations, and the high-ranked GGO player Kureha.

Now this was a boss-clearing party. Dozens of characters appeared, obviously guided by Yui herself to this point.

Whilst the newcomers took over, Yui worked some magic of another kind, and suddenly the SAO Survivors were in new clothes, apparently transferred from their old SAO data, Kirito's double-blades and all, and Shino found herself in her GGO Sinon garb. Which meant...

The gun in her arms was no longer the depowered substitute rifle that Ordinal Scale had forced upon her, but her most trusted companion for months alone in GGO. Hecate. 

_Now I'm going to do some damage._

On paper, with so many life-bars, attacks and abilities, the boss should still have been a huge challenge, but with this switch in momentum, with the inspiration that seeing allies and close friends like Suguha, with the emotions of their emotionally important old gear, the boost of their best stats, the effect of seeing Asuna return brave and triumphant and the addition of ALO magic and GGO guns, victory seemed inevitable.

 

They all did their part, able to apply tactics impossible in the game in which this boss had been designed, her shots finally doing some damage with her favourite rifle back, and when it tried to heal itself, Shino helped the magic users and other gun users to destroy its healing magic. Her lovers rushed the boss, dodging beautifully like some perfect dance, and when it looked like some shots might inevitably hit them, perfect shots from Shino and magic from Suguha intercepted the blows, leaving the boss open. Kirito opened its defences and Asuna channelled the heartache of losing Konno Yuuki and used her notorious combo, bequeathed to Asuna on her deathbed - the unique attack Mother's Rosario. Kirito followed up with his own unique combo, and with that, the boss was defeated. 

Shino was buzzing with energy, not quite seeing what happened in the aftermath, but they quickly rematerialised in the Stadium, where it seemed barely any time had passed.

_I'm sure that Full Dive is meant to work in real time, how did that all happen so quickly?_

Even in real time, the next events happened quickly. Kirito dispatched the reaper-boss, and conversed with YUNA. Then, now the number one ranked player with a new sword to match that, Kirito easily cleared the arena of bosses, apparently (though the science sounded a bit tenuous to Shino) decreasing the emotional tension of the audience and making the scan impossible. Then they had the opportunity to calm down and talk through what happened next.

YUNA, or Yuuna, existed as a result of memory collection, and so, she said, had the capacity to give those memories back to their original owners but doing so would remove her from existence as a sentient being. Sad as that sounded, Yuuna felt ready to move on. 

"This isn't me but a shadow of me, and I want the real me, the whole me, to get an opportunity to experience whatever happens next. I thank you all, for the opportunity of letting me sing in front of an audience at last, and for setting me free from the prison of a past in stasis..."

There was no arguing with that. Yuuna faded, and Asuna immediately burst into tears, overwhelmed.

"Kirito-Kun, I remember! I remember it all!" Hazel eyes shiny with emotion, voice breaking, Shino and Kirito both hugged her, and patted her head until it was time to move on.

 

They found out later that Kikuota had managed to apprehend Professor Shigemura, though he remained close-lipped on what would happen to him now. 

"I still don't fully trust him," said Kirito, "Though I suppose we both owe each other thanks for helping fix this situation." 

"I guess this means no more Augma and Ordinal Scale, at least until someone has a chance to prove they are safe without Shigemura here?" That was Asuna, now smiling though still wet-cheeked. 

_Good. I was kind of missing doing stuff together in ALO anyway, and I want to get the rest of the crew involved on Gun Gale, PLUS BoB 4 is in just over a month. At least this whole affair has taught me some skills I think I can use there._

If she shot like she had yesterday evening, Shino felt she could shoot through the entire field. Plus the ability to aim without the game's virtual assist would give her an element of surprise. 

They spent a little while trying to relax after all the excitement, the whole group of them (minus the still hospitalised Klein - Shino hoped that someone would catch up with Eiji to give him his just desserts after his assault) gathered and chatted in a bar near the arena. Just before they all parted ways to go home and recuperate from the intense last week, both Kirito and Asuna beckoned Shino over.

"Hey Shino. You know Asuna and I are going to head to Mount Doudaira the night before the Children's Day holiday, to watch the meteor shower like we promised each other in SAO?"

"Yeah, I hope you have a great time, I know it's important for the two of you to celebrate your past together, especially after this last week has reminded us all of how important memory is!"

Asuna interjected.

"Except that's not what the promise was about. We made a promise to celebrate the future together, a life outside of Aincrad as well as the good and the important memories we made in that world.Any future we have together includes you, and Yui. So we would like you to be there as well. Our family, all together, and now that includes you. So, please, will you join us?"

She felt the adrenaline, the pure pleasure flowing through her. She had never imagined, as intimate as they all were together now, that they would share such an inherently intimate remembrance with her, the late-comer to their trio. 

"Oh my word, yes! I mean, I would love to join you, if that's what you want."

Thankfully, it really was. The time before that saw the whole group take on a quick quest in SAO and then Shino break everyone, including Klein (thanks to the return to VR over AR), into GGO. Klein used an assault rifle, Lisbeth a shotgun with a pump action and Silica two handheld submachine guns, in addition to the submachine gun use of Leafa and the photon swords Asuna and Kirito focussed on. Agil carried a heavy gatling gun-style machine gun though he picked a grenade launcher as his back up weapon, to act as the heavy weapons expert.

They seemed to gel well as a unit in that game as well, with a lot of variety as well as deeply ingrained teamwork and their time in other games let them adjust to GGO quickly (that was the advantage of the Seed) though they still relied on her for tactical advice etc, and they managed to clear a dungeon in the evening, and in the open world impressed a few players. Kirito even thought he might be able to entice his old ally Argo in to play - she had sent him a message out of the ether after she had aided them against the SAO final boss. Shino had received some messages too, from Kureha who wanted to spar with her online some time as well as another SAO Survivor who wanted to thank their group for all they had done and meet up in Gun Gale or Alfheim sometime, a girl called Philia. Adding GGO to the mix seemed to sit well with the whole group, and they had no problem with meeting some new friends though it was hard to see anyone else breaking into their party permanently - then again, Shino would have been a surprise addition too. 

After the chaos of Ordinal Scale, the government and various independent agencies had finally decided that they couldn't pretend that SAO had never happened any more, and so they released (led by Kikuota, Shino suspected) the official record of what had happened in Aincrad, and an unofficial but more detailed book was apparently close to being ready for release. This, together with the Ordinal Scale incident (which was very high profile, and even more so online thanks to Yui and Suguha collecting up players to help them at the end) built on the notoriety that players like Kirito, Asuna, Leafa and indeed Sinon had built up on ALO and due to the Death Gun incident and had made them minor celebrities in the virtual world, something Shino wasn't really comfortable with. It seemed the others shared those feelings and so they were careful to take their time before responding to any offers. Kirito thought the hype would eventually die down but likely not go away completely. He had the most to hope that it did - outside of their group he was still fairly shy, and he was probably the most prominent of them thanks to SAO and how he had been an integral factor in the completion of that game.

Finally they made it through to the 4th of May. 

_Star Wars day, and here we are celebrating by watching falling stars. With two Jedi, in a way - their photon sword skills must have been tried unsuccessfully by a thousand Sci-Fi fans before Kirito came in mastering it and then a thousand again after he showed that hypothetically it could be done. You need to be special to pull it off. Like these two. Gods, I am so lucky._

The four of them, including Yui via the probe Kirito had made for her, sat under the indigo sky watching the beautiful display, hands interlocked. Finally, when a pause in the stellar display occurred, Kirito gave back the ring he had picked for Asuna. It wasn't an engagement ring as such, that was a western thing and Asuna was too young to wed yet even with parental consent, but it was a promise. 

Shino's heart fell for a second when it happened, glad to be a part of their relationship, but sure that it was impossible to ever be equal to the spouse of either of them. Her head was down, staring at the ground, until gentle hands tipped it back up, for a kiss from Asuna's sweet lips. Eyes closed, Shino accepted her consolation. Then, on opening them, she gasped.

In addition to the silver and blue (sapphire?) ring that Kirito had placed on Asuna's finger, he held in his hand two more. Both silver as well (or white gold, she guessed, but that seemed to be pushing the budget a bit for a student), a green gemstone that he slid onto Shino's finger and, classically, deep purple that was almost black for his own.

"I meant it when I said we all had a shared future. Whether that means in law that we can all marry together one day, or we don't marry and stay like this, or two marry in an open relationship with the third involved, it doesn't matter. We all know that we are together forever, just as Asuna and I have been married in spirit since we wed in Aincrad. Shino, is this what you want? To be a family together with us?"

"Yes!" She almost shouted, to a kind smile from Asuna and wry grin from Kirito. 

"Well then, consider this a new day of new promises. All 3 of us will be together, maybe with than Yui one day, and our new future is as a family even if it takes time to make that official and win over the Yuuki clan. We will have to be honest with them soon, I'm due to have formal dinner with them next week. Somehow, we'll make it work."

And Shino was sure they would, because so far all of them had beaten whatever odds had come their way. They promised as well to look after each other if anything unthinkable happened to one of them, though none of them believed that any such bad luck could come their way any time soon. 

_After all we've been through, we are due a break, surely?_

The last train back into town was soon, but there was no school due the next day, and being a decent way out from any of their homes in Tokyo, the three of them had packed a tent and sleeping bags to stay at a nearby campsite. There had never been a frank discussion of what might happen in said tent, but it lay unspoken in the air now, and Asuna sensibly sent Yui "off to bed", ready to turn the probe off. She said her goodnights, calling Shino 'Mummy' to differentiate her from Asuna's 'Mama' but making her affection clear. Once she had gone, they were careful not to get too raunchy here on the mountain site - public sex like that was illegal - but the petting was heavy and the kisses grew more and more passionate as they made their way down the path to their tent, isolated away from any other campers, a climbed inside hungry to consummate their new pledges to each other.


	22. She that works from afar

Stifling Asuna's giggles as they rushed back to and into their tent, buzzing with the thoughts and promises of the future, Shino wasted no time undressing in the warm May air, eager to celebrate their shared love. Asuna, still on the edge of happy laughter, joined her, the glorious silhouette of her topless form enticing in its splendour, perky breasts freed and calling out to Shino. 

It was pretty dark by now. Kirito sensibly cracked open a few glowsticks they had brought along before Shino and Asuna impatiently tugged his shirt off to join them in their semi-nakedness. There wasn't a lot of space in the tent, but luckily proximity wouldn't hinder what they had in mind now. Kirito was still on his knees but the girls were lying on the ground, on top of roll-mats and sleeping bags, as they pulled off their jeans. Shino rolled over, whilst Kirito caught up with their state of undress, now lying on top of her girlfriend with their faces nearly touching and their uncovered breasts pushed into each others, and explored her mouth with her tongue. Knowing Kirito would join them when ready, Shino pinned Asuna's wrists down as she kept kissing, pressing her lace covered pelvis into the older girl's before shifting so that her thigh was wedged right in between Asuna's legs. She applied pressure to the mound there. 

"Oh!" Spurred on, knowing Asuna enjoyed the feeling of being restrained a little, Shino kept hold of her lover's hands, and plied her collar bone with kisses as she rubbed thigh across Asuna's clothed groin, rewarded with nods and cries of "Yes!". Then she felt Kirito-Kun's hands at their waists, movement around Asuna first yanking her underwear down her legs and forcing it past the thigh Shino had pressed there, making her relieve the pressure for a moment before she replaced it, now feeling wetness on her leg from Asuna's excitement.

This was quickly followed by her own panties being pulled off her, and Kirito's hands toying with her own folds and slit, as well as the front of her

_I'm glad I trimmed a bit down there, I always get self-conscious when either of them are near my pubic hair, though they don't seem to mind it much_. Indeed, Kirito's fingers rolled over and played with one of her curls as she thought this. She didn't wax or shave most of it off, like Asuna who kept a russet triangle only there, but kept it all over but trimmed to a short length, similar to Kirito though a little longer than him right now.

Asuna indicated to let her arms go free, and once Shino relented she started to play with Shino's breasts and hair. Then she put both hands on Shino's bottom cheeks, gripping them firmly, massaging them and suddenly pulling them apart. Kirito noticed, and, wetting it first in the pool between her legs, applied light force with a finger around her sensitive back passage and eased it through her sphincter.

"Oh gods, that feels so good!"

After some manoeuvring, Shino shifted up so that her dripping vulva was right over Asuna's face, immediately met by probing tongue over her little bud, whilst she felt (both in the movement behind her and in the movement of Asuna's tongue as she moaned) Kirito enter the other girl and thrust rhythmically. With Shino slightly elevated on her knees, he somehow managed to get his face lined up with her vagina from the back and lapped at her as best as he could. Excited and physically still exhausted from their exploits in Ordinal Scale, none of the three of them lasted long for their first orgasm, Asuna shuddering and crying out first, the thought of that finishing off Shino who jerked and came all over her face before Kirito emptied his seed into Asuna. Feeling kinky, Shino had a sudden urge to taste both of her lovers on each other. She swallowed Kirito's still firm penis, coated in Asuna's nectar, before delving into Asuna's crotch, poking her tongue as deep inside her canal as she could, managing to reach and taste the salty jism within. 

Before they fell asleep in close proximity on a pile of opened sleeping bags (worried the smell of sex might permeate them otherwise), each of them tasted the others, and Kirito fucked both of them and finished in Shino as well, as she promised it was a safe time to do so. As she watched Kirito take her girlfriend doggy-style, Asuna pondered aloud.

"Sex like a man seems fun, Sinonon, maybe we should invest together in one of those toys so we can each try being the giver as well as receiver? What do you think, Kirito-Kun? Would you like to watch that?" Yes, it turned out. Shino resolved to buy a strap-on as soon as possible. Maybe some other toys as well - she was discovering, an inevitability given their polyamorous union, that she quite enjoyed a degree of kink, and maybe branching out past her trusty vibrator was a good idea. Asuna, though she was embarrassed to talk about it unless very aroused indeed, was very much into ass-play especially once she was in the midst of passion, and Shino suspected that she'd quite like the idea of Kirito and herself each filling one of her holes if they had such a toy. They had all gotten good at crossing boundaries at this point.

Further sexual thoughts would have to wait, though. They fell asleep and then had to hurry up in the morning to pack up the tent and make it back to spend the holiday with their families. Shino visited her mother, who seemed infected by her current happiness, making real progress over the last few months with Shino so buoyed by her wonderful partners. She knew Kirito was spending the day on an outing with his aunt, uncle and Suguha, and Asuna's brother was back briefly so her full family were together too. She's hadn't met him yet but Asuna promised she would soon. That evening they would all find time to meet up, on ALO on this occasion. 

The rest of the month went in a haze and a blur. Kirito met Asuna's parents formally, and they had seemed somewhat reassured (though not yet convinced) by their daughter's choice, helped by the discovery that he was a national hero thanks to the records of SAO being released, and by his obvious intelligence and good heart. Shino also spent a weekend with the Yuuki family though they didn't reveal that she was romantically involved with Asuna yet - that would come but they weren't a family to rush over something so unconventional. In turn, Shino took each of Kirito, Asuna and Sugua too to see her mother, who approved of the partners and the friend. Shino felt comfortable with schoolwork and met up regularly with the crew on GGO, where they were growing in confidence, and ALO, where she was growing in skill, and she continued to train solo in the latter as well, with BoB nearby in June. Her confidence obviously carried over into real life as well, where she was making some acquaintances if not true friends at school, people who no longer sensing weakness and reticence seemed to stop ignoring or bullying her and tried to find out about her. They hadn't forgotten about Kirito picking her up on his bike, and that made her intriguing to them.

Shino also met, briefly, some new friends online. Kureha arranged to meet up with her on GGO and she discovered she liked the calm, clever girl (as a friend) and they did a couple of join quests. She also met, briefly on the same side of an open battle, a group of women who had fought in Squad Jam called SHINC. She hadn't forgotten her plan to eventually get a team into a future Squad Jam, but the thought of facing this group of ladies daunted her - they were perfectly in sync and professional. On ALO, the group were fleetingly joined by the girl from SAO who had shouted out to them, the blonde-haired Philia, who knew the SAO Survivors passingly well, as well as the petit, mousy haired Argo (yet another Cait Sith) with her weird vocal inflection and teasing relationship with Asuna and Kirito. She liked both of them, as well as Lux, a white haired Sylph introduced to the team by Suguha, Silica and Lisbeth. None of them were fixtures but they were there enough to pad out their group into a mini-guild if they needed it. 

Amongst all this, Shino managed to have at least weekly sex with her lovers, and had bought a selection of toys from the sex-shop as planned though they hadn't used them yet. Their lovemaking remained passionate but more and more tender, and the three of them managed to fit in real life dates including cinema trips and meals out to emphasise that this was a relationship based on love, not lust. Shino even got babysitting duties with Yui a few times, and found that she had grown very strong maternal instincts to her partners' adopted AI child. 

Old habits die hard though, and by the end of May Shino had poured her focus onto one event: winning Bullet of Bullets outright by herself. Finally, the day came, and, after getting her good luck kiss from Kirito and Asuna, knowing they'd be watching with the rest of her friends and half the VRMMORPG community, she strode into her preliminary rounds. 6 matches to get ready for the main thing. She readied Hecate, her partner in crime. 

Shino had always been fascinated by Western literature and classical mythology, as well as Japanese legend, and recognising her gun's name as a Greek goddess had investigated into its origins. She had recognised the name initially from Neil Gaiman's Sandman, one of her favourite western pieces of writing (though as a graphic novel, writing wasn't quite right - it was a different approach to visual media than Manga but that was their closest equivalent). Hecate was an amazing character - a Goddess of the Underworld, associated with boundaries, entrances and crossroads, and like Shino part of a famous trio. Several, in fact, be that in modern paganism as a part of the wonderful myth of the Triple Goddess of the Moon, the wise crone of hell to the innocent but determined maiden of Artemis of the earth and worldly and kindly Phoebe, mother of the heavens, or as part of the Trio of Underworld Goddesses together with Persephone and Kore (confusingly the three sometimes were seen as separate and sometimes conflated). She was also the Goddess of witchcraft, ghosts, and magic in general, a protector of households and women, linked with light in the darkness, a fertility and sex goddess but completely different to Aphrodite... She could go on, but from classical times to paganism the name represented a huge amount. There was some debate as to where it came from. Either it came from "willing" and meant "She who enacts her will", or from "far reaching" and meant "She who works from afar".

Whichever it was, it was an apt name for her and for her mistress. Shino loved that, the idea of putting her will upon this virtual world with Hecate as Kirito had taught her, and the idea of doing it from afar. That was exactly what she was going to do. 

Round 1: Shino was paired against a player she didn't know, a shotgun wielding man with a goatee and expensive armour. No helmet though, and she had no intention of letting him use his weapon. They started a moderate distance apart, but both near minimal cover. She risked an early shot rather than getting somewhere safe, to get some time to collect recon ahead of the next fight, and it paid off. Her eye clearly already in, she got her one hidden shot within seconds of starting, predicting his running line as he went for cover and finishing him in one.

Round 2: Shino got a chance to prep on this opponent, one she had heard of. In fact, he had been in the last BoB finals, a player called XYZ who used speed and an assault rifle. This time Shino got herself into a good camping position where she couldn't be snuck up on, and waited for him to run out of patience. When he did, she fired two shots in as quick succession as Hecate would allow, both hitting him in the torso as he was caught unaware and wiping him out.

Round 3: Next was an androgynous fighter called Clarence. Shino couldn't find them for a while and got a shock when they came firing an SMG out of cover. Luckily Shino was well placed and kept low to the ground, so none of the bullets hit their mark, but she couldn't get a good view of her opponent, hiding in thick foliage in the jungle stage they had appeared in. Not a one trick pony, she took out an incendiary grenade she had packed for this eventuality. She estimated the running time out of cover for the enemy, identified where their next closest cover to move into would be, lined Hecate up to intercept that path and then took a moment to calculate angles and trajectories before singlehandedly tossing the grenade hard at the foe's cover. Using a bow, subject to gravity, in ALO had helped a lot here, and she guessed correctly that Clarence's weapon couldn't pinpoint the grenade early. It landed, and Clarence had no choice but to dart out of cover as it spewed fire over the trees she hid behind. Out of cover right into the perfectly timed bullet Shino fired. 

Round 4: Katana was a young man, pumped up full of testosterone and from what she had witnessed everything that Shino despised about men in this game. He arrogantly tried to rush her, carrying a sidearm that was too heavy for him and a photon blade that he tried to use to deflect her shot, but he was no Kirito. Another single shot battle.

Round 5: This was the last time she could go out before the Battle Royale, with both Preliminary Finalists guaranteed to make it through. Again she faced a fairly worthy foe, one she had killed before in the last Bullet of Bullets. He wore heavy armour and the last time they had fought his high defence and armour meant that she couldn't have sniped him even with Hecate. However, she'd targeted his plasma grenades and blew him up that way from over a kilometre away. He would be wise to that tactic this time, and the rocky landscape they ended up on made it very hard to snipe from a distance. Luckily, thanks to a quest that she had undergone with her new GGO squad alongside Kureha, Shino had a back up plan. She used a rare item called "decoy mouse", of which she had 3 uses, which scooted along the floor at human running pace whilst projecting a rough hologram of her appearance above it. It wasn't convincing to close inspection, but at a glance Shishigane fell for it and tried to step out and ambush her, revealing his position. Shino, tracking her own drone from cover, snuck a little closer, able to track the bemused idiot now he had come out of hiding, and tossed her own explosive grenade at him. He spun, preparing to bat it out of the air, but she shot directly at it, blowing it up in his face and replicating her tactic from last time. It didn't quite kill him, but took out his breastplate and left him stunned on the ground where acting quickly she finished him with a round from her pistol at point blank range.

Round 6: She had made the final now, without having to resort to any of her close combat tricks taken from ALO or her OS inspired unassisted sniping, and she still had a few trump items up her sleeve thanks to her recent questing and her as-yet-untouched prize for coming joint first in the last tournament. Whether she won or lost now, this battle was an opportunity to scout out an opponent she might have to face in the final tournament, so she planned to take her time and watch her enemy move and react to her across the map. Zeliska was her name, an honestly beautiful silver-haired amazon who was a mysterious character in GGO - she was known to be very skilled but for some reason did not turn up on any leaderboards. This was her first entry into BoB and she had demolished her enemies with calmness, speed and durability (a strange mix) and her optical shotgun. Utilising cover brilliantly and dodging a sniper shot at the last minute, she gave Shino a real test, especially as Shino did not want to reveal any of her tricks before the main event, but by careful moving of position she managed to avoid ever getting into lethal range from the shotgun and carefully shielded herself from the rain of fire that Zeliska's secondary machine gun produced, finally leading her into a dead end where she had no space to avoid the shot that nearly wiped out all of her HP and left her prone to Shino's follow up bullet. The affair was the longest match of their bracket of the tournament, and helped Shino become intimately aware of the other woman's movement style and patterns and her strengths and weaknesses, though unfortunately it would teach Zeliska as well. 

 

Which brought Shino, ready for an evening of rest (despite her urge to celebrate with Kirito and Asuna physically, she resisted knowing she would have have a mind focussed only on one thing), in as one of the favourites for the final competition. There were a slew of names she recognised. Yamikaze, Ritchey and Jushi X from the last BoB. Her friend Kureha and ex-comrade and acquaintance Dyne. Famous players Kakouton and Itsuki. Zeliska, of course. A sniper from Squad Jam calld Shirley. Masaya, Blackwood, she knew. And of course, the number 1 favourite, winner of the first ever BoB and deemed untouchable - Subtilizer. That's who she had to beat.


	23. Perfect Shot

Shino slept surprisingly well, and got herself prepared. She ate a light breakfast, and went through her basic strategy in the mind as she waited for the game to begin, away from the others. There wasn't much point in overplanning, as there was no predicting what would happen with so many other players present.

She thought through what she knew about the other competitors, to help make any on the spot decisions she had to later on. After working through the list of players she knew, she was fairly confident she had an approach for everyone except Subtilizer. He had been tactically perfect when he won BoB, and in his heats. If it came down to it, she wasn't sure she could prepare for him, and would just hope she could get a shot at him early on, or a situation at the end where it could come down to raw skill and she would trust and back herself over anything longer than close range.

It was time.

All equipment double-checked, Hecate ready and mind as calm as it was going to get, Shino flickered into the loading screen, and watched the counter go down as she prepared to move for whatever cover came up when she appeared in the battle map and then reassess the best first step. She was zen personified, she was going to be perfect.

Finally their battleground sprung into life around her, and she rolled into shelter, letting her enhanced senses screen for any enemies nearby. Nothing yet. She was very handily part way up some kind of hill or ridge near a patch of jungle. The focus for now would be to get somewhere she could watch out for any approaching danger, with some degree of concealment, and stay safe until the first scan revealed where the other players were and then she'd identify one to target, act quickly and move to a new safe place, and for the last part the view she should have of the whole surrounding area from this peak would be helpful.

Cautiously, staying low to the ground and in shrubbery, and with her detection ability, honed in the campaign mode with her friends as well as in ALO, kept active, she climbed to near the top of this hill, not where she would be visible to anyone below her but in a better sheltered outcrop coming off at an angle. From here she mapped out her surroundings and worked out several good spots to move towards: a nearby dense patch of forest with some climbable trees; some sand dunes to the west that would be easy to hide in, and another mountain to the north.

Another, irresistable sight came into view as she scoped out the area. Right at the edge of her range even with Hecate, maybe a kilometre or more away, a figure was making its way between two points of cover too far apart, obviously feeling safe and neither ducking nor weaving, and not moving that fast. It was a hard shot, over that distance she'd need her zoom, and even with autoaim assist would need to account for height, gravity and wind drift, and calculate the target's speed and path to intercept with a bullet whilst it moved. They could change direction or pace or stop and over a thousand metres a small change would result in a miss. She hesitated for one moment, then took the shot anyway. She was not only here to win, but to win taking scalps. Her last joint victory had seen her hide away for much of the match, and she wanted to make it clear that she was the best player here as well as the winner. And that meant taking some risks, and taking out some players (not that she had done neither last time).

She shot. She was perfect. The bullet curved through wind and gravity and cut them off on the run, with no chance to take evasive action. The target dropped, *DEAD* above its remains.

_1 down. 28 to go._

She probably didn't have to move yet, that shot wouldn't have had prediction lines and nobody would be able to tell whence it had come. But she readied herself for as soon as the scan came in, not willing to risk being caught unawares if another player were close. Anyone who realised she had drawn first blood would expect her next bullet to come with a prediction line, but she had a surprise for them, fostered in Ordinal Scale.

The first scan came. Shino had a few opponents nearby who could reach her in time. E.J. Zeliska. And Shirley. Zeliska she knew used a shotgun mostly, was skilled but would need to get close to her to be a threat. E.J. used twin SMGs in the heats, from what Shino had researched. He was hot-headed and could be lured into a trap. Shirley was a sniper, had been in Squad Jam 2, and could fire without autoaim assist. She was the biggest threat. So Shino would take her out.

She was in the patch of jungle nearby, so Shino quickly and carefully, mixing up her route so it was unpredictable and mostly hidden from view, made her way down to that area, happy this would take her away from the other two who would likely clash, and certainly find it hard to sneak up on her with her detection stats maxed out now (she'd learnt from Kirito catching her cold last tournament).

She ended up trying to track clues for the other sniper in the jungle, and the time for the next scan was nearly up when she spotted a glint of light from some foliage a few hundred metres away.

That's a rifle scope. So she must be there, but I can't get a good view of her. If I fire without being sure where she is, I'll reveal where my body is and she can return at me, but as it is she can't see me camouflaged in my own green environment.

She stopped dead still, hoping the other girl would move and give her a clue as to where to fire, but nothing came and she was running out of time before the scan would reveal her position and give away her advantage. She couldn't move to get another angle, as Shirley would surely notice it at this point. She could try her 'Phantom Bullet' trick, use aim assist to create a prediction line and then move it over Shirley's rough location, expecting she'd move and reveal herself if the line were on her body, with Shirley assuming it meant she had her in her sights. But aiming in that way would also give up the element of surprise, and she didn't want to do that unless she needed too, even though she backed herself to win a sniper duel.

Luckily coming first last time had given her an edge.

Top placed players in BoB got prizes, usually real-life items or in game equipment, and Shino had won the latter. She had no idea what Kirito had been granted, but she had won a unique item. The infrared scope.

It made aiming harder, as it changed the colour spectrum and blurred the vision a little, but Sinon was present today and she knew she couldn't miss, even if she were going to fire without assistance to remain undetected. What it did do was showed the heat signal of an opponent and allowed her to see where they were regardless of any cover in the way. It made identifying Shirley's head easy, and the practiced natural shooting she had had to use in Ordinal Scale meant the enemy never got the warning of a prediction line. Shirley never had a chance to return fire and demonstrate her own skill. One shot and Shino's kill count had doubled.

_Someone would have heard that._

She made her way through the dense undergrowth, on hands and knees, until she was well sheltered. She knew where she was heading next, had seen a little cranny where the jungle joint the jagged terrain around the mountain she had seen earlier. Somewhere in this map there was likely an urban component, where she had noticed a number of players clustered together earlier, and she would eventually make her way there, but she wanted to clean up here first.

She set herself up in an area where she could hop between different secluded, protected nooks. The last scan had shown people generally spread out and little sign of active combat, so she stayed in the same area, let the opposition mark her location and shifted to a different barrier of rocks. For one whole cycle nobody arrived to harass her, but when those 15 minutes were up, amazingly with only one casualty on the whole map, she found herself in the middle of 3 equidistant approaching opponents. Zeliska was one, Gladius another and the last one called Raiden. Logically all would see her as unable to slip away and head towards her. She moved position within her perimeter once more, and set her aim on the direction she knew the ground would channel the marginally closest of those players, Gladius. She waited patiently, her peripheral senses on as high an alert as her faculties and her detection skill would allow to react in case the other two got here early.

5 minutes in, he popped his head over a striation in the rock, and she made a subtle adjustment and blew his head off. She knew that another player was approaching from the east, Raiden based on the previous update, but from his footsteps she had time. She minutely changed position, now leaning against her rock and facing his likely angle of approach, whilst she reloaded calmly but efficiently. Just as she was ready, he appeared, slinking through a crevasse in the landscape, and she twitched her finger and hit him in the throat with another fatal bullet.

Then she heard a pebble tumble behind her.

_Shit. Zeliska is here. She uses a shotgun, very much advantageous in this set up and range._

Shino reloaded again, hurriedly but holding back her panic, and managed to get another shot in her gun when the silver-haired Amazon arrived, sliding down at her from a slope at speed, drawn by the two shots that preceded. Shino had a bullet in Hecate but no time to aim properly, so she shot from the hip, hitting her enemy in the stomach and wounding but not killing her. As she did this, she dived for cover, luckily escaping most of the shotgun blast coming her way, the rest ricochetting off the rugged boulder she had been using for cover. It still took off a considerable amount of health.

Shino was shaken, but remained composed.

_Zeliska will expect me to run and try to get set up for another rifle shot, she'll pursue me around this corner as fast as she can and if I run, she'll get a clear shot at my back. Let's do something unexpected._

Using experience from ALO, where archers had to be able to dodge and then protect themselves at least briefly at close range, and using a "haze and blaze" tactic she had seen from Kirito and Asuna together, Shino tossed a smoke grenade around the rock just as she rolled, making a clean shot hard for either of them. Then instead of retreating, she dashed back around the barrier to where the disoriented Zeliska was barrelling through, and used the reduced visibility to catch her off guard. She kept low, knowing precision wasn't important here, and used her body to trip the other woman and then lashed out with her rifle as a club, like she would use her bow as a stave when things got close in Alfheim, and sent her off balance and then sprawling on the ground. Before she could reach, Shino stabbed in her other hand with her combat knife, finishing her off before she could pull the trigger again.

_That was close. But also, 5 kills now._

She had time to get up to high ground where another ambush would be impossible before the next countdown came.

There were 15 left now. That meant she had killed a third of those defeated so far. Not bad.

Nobody else was close. From her vantage point, she could see the urban wasteland area, where more opponents awaited. She ran that way, not having any vehicles within easy access. No time spent cowering in a cave today.

Unlike her earlier victim, she zigzagged her route, bobbing up and down just in case another sniper saw her, but she was happy that she was well covered. She passed a potential sniper's nest, a tall watchtower, but something about the set up left her chary of climbing it. The ladder was askance- someone had climbed it and wasn't there any more. She suspected it was booby-trapped.

That gave her an idea, and as she passed a stretch of moorland with scrubby, wiry grass, she set up her own trap at the narrowing between two mounds that led most directly to the town-area she was approaching, carefully checking nobody else had had the same plot. A length of wire taut and low below the grassline between those lumps, one of her three explosive grenades (she had her flashbang as well but had used one of her two smoke bombs) at one edge, and she was done. Might pay off, might not, but her style didn't use a lot of explosives anyway.

Before long she was at the fringes of an area with a bunker and a war-torn square, strewn with rubble. As she hared towards a viable sniping spot, to the surprise of both, she came into the vision of a man in heavy armour, with an old Chinese general's hat. A man she and Kirito had defeated last time but a top level player, Kakatoun. She dropped to one knee and levelled Hecate, seeing he had his gun strapped to his back for movement and wouldn't get a chance to fire, but she noticed he had an item in his hand. A grenade, one he was releasing just as she was about to squeeze the trigger. A dilemma. She could kill him but the chances were he'd get that grenade at her as he died and it might kill her. So she made a small adjustment and took a half second to aim again, this time at the grenade that was now a metre or so in front of him, flung as she had thought and then switched target. Nowhere near her yet though. She hit it, and the blast threw him backward. She thought about following through and making sure he was done, but reloading and reusing Hecate at this range was risky when he had explosives and an assault rifle, and she heard nearby gunfire, other foes who would surely flock to that loud noise. So she did the tactically sound thing and kept running, away from the sound of dancing bullets, and activated her drone to draw away anyone including Kakatoun who tried to follow her. She tracked it from a safe spot, ready to shoot anyone trailing it, but for now nobody came.

The gunfire had stopped. That meant either one fighter had disengaged or been killed. Either way, someone would be close and looking for a new target. Good. She had a trick she wanted to try out.

Shino set herself up lying down in a classic nest, shrouded from the front but ensuring that the sunlight would glint off her scope for anyone observant enough to spy from a side approach, and deliberately using her autoaim to produce a projection line, she shot into the distance. Not at any target, just so that any nearby contestant would notice the sound and visual cue to her rough location.

As she hoped, a slim man in khaki with an SMG slipped around to the side a few minutes later and fired a round at the exact spot they saw her characteristic white and green attire and unique rifle lying flat on the ground, perfectly spewed to waste her, bullets across her torso.

Unfortunately for them, Shino was not there. But a remote activated flashbang was.

*BANG*

With a thunderclap and a lightning flash, the alcove she had found lit up, and her erstwhile executioner fell to their knees, covering their ears with eyes jammed shut. Helpless as Shino stepped out from a wall behind him, took 2 steps and doubletapped 2 bullets with her pistol to the back of his head.

_Luckily he fell for that and I came when he was blind and from behind, or it might have been embarrassing. Still, if he had turned around, he might still have been too distracted to shoot. If he'd seen me half-naked, I'd have had to kill him anyway._

She took her earplugs out and her bullet riddled clothes back on, using a tailors kit to repair the armour damage, though the bullet hole aesthetic would last and make her seem more wounded than she was. She knew that it was possible that the viewers had seen her in her undershorts and bra but they wouldn't get a great view from afar anyway and she felt any exposure was worth it for the cheap kill. She picked up Hecate, undamaged, and waited for the next update.

_At least that will give Asuna and Kirito something fun to look at... And to tease me with later._

It was down to the final ten. She had killed 7, leading the field - obviously her grenade-trap had worked. In fact when she checked, she had killed someone called Rommelv2. Cool. She didn't care much for someone who picked a Nazi name anyway, even if it were one of the less famously awful ones.

So, she was left, and here were her opponents:

2 friends; Dyne and Kureha. That was heartening to see, for their sakes.   
2 old foes whose runs she and Kirito had ended together last time out; "Musketeer" X, and Yamikaze. Not to be underestimated.  
A few other big names she recognised from the leaderboards; Kakouton whom she had wounded - annoying that he'd survived, but he'd be weak. Itsuki, a top ranked player and frankly a bit of a douche but a dangerous opportunist. Ritchey, a sniper she'd have to watch out for. Stinger who used a lot of explosives.   
Then the big one. The self-proclaimed best player and tactical genius who had missed the last 2 tournaments, and she'd seen no sign of here or in GGO for some time. Subtilizer.  
And her. Sinon. She made ten.

Now it got serious.


	24. Sudden Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say 3 things:
> 
> 1) sorry for the delay, life is busy and this fan fic is the one that takes the most planning from me  
> 2) soon we will catch up to where the current anime is. When that happens, I will keep on writing but possibly I will need to slow down as to not overtake the anime. Though not if I keep taking 2 weeks between chapters! I have a plot planned out for post Alicization as well, including eventually a crossover with Llenn etc from SAO Alternative GGO  
> 3) thank you all so much for your likes and comments - they genuinely make me so happy, and make this worth it.

And then there were 10.

 

Sinon had a long look at the map in front of her. The remaining players were mostly deeper in, scattered around what seemed to a badlands type, eroded landscape, with a few buildings indicated, a canyon and a savage ridge, as well as other rocky formations. There was some more urban terrain near her but it was currently vacant, and the couple of players in a marsh, or maybe it was a swamp(?), were a bit too far away for now. They'd have to occupy each other.

Kureha and Stinger were nearby. Close enough to each other that they'd surely be in combat soon. Shino would try to get a vantage point on them and take out the survivor, hopefully Kureha but there was no space for sentiment now, and then she had planned out a spot to hold off against anyone trying to pick her off at close quarters. She could see a few options with good defensible cover and the high ground, but several of them had the capacity to get surrounded, so she went for the one with the best escape route. 

Stinger had been her semi final opponent in qualifiers in the last tournament - he had tried to test her patience and then trick her using a rock's shadow to draw her fire whilst he prepared to rush her in a vehicle. It had been a clever feint, but she had recovered too quickly and he had underestimated her ability to calculate where he (inside his vehicle) would be after that, and she had gotten in the second shot, the only other one she needed. He used a carbine rifle. Light and accurate but if she had a heigh advantage, there's no way he could compete for range. Kureha was good at improvising plans and reading the battlefield situation, using an SMG to spread fire so she could move into a favourable position. Another set up that wouldn't work well against a well placed sniper. 

Shino sprinted her way up, clambering where necessary, to a crag connecting to the ridge, where she was delighted to find she had a good angle over the the dusty wasteland that her rivals were firing at each other over, each using the detritus around them as protection, unfortunately for them inadequately as far as her view went. She suppressed a momentary spark of sadness when she saw Kureha fall to a shot to the chest, but wasted no time mourning. 

*BOOM*

Headshot. 8 left, 7 to go. Efficiently, and staying as hidden as possible, Shino slid down the slope along its most concealed side, and then used the scanty plant cover, and she snuck past the crevasse she'd seen on the map and back into the cityscape, hoping someone would try to follow her and be in her sights when she was ready to turn around and cover her back, or failing this that she'd get time to seem to entrench herself and set some bait. 

For better or worse, nobody tracked her, and the next scan showed that whilst some players seemed to have skirmished, nobody else had fallen as a casualty. She set herself up in a tower, booby-trapping the top of it before hiding down at the bottom in the back of an abandoned pick up truck, lying under a canvass sheet, moving her scope around to see any approaching foes. The scanner would only show rough position and not vertical distance at all, so being a sniper most opponents would assume she was in the tower and either storm it, setting off her 2nd grenade, or to hang back sheltered from the view from the tower and either fire at it or plan to find another approach. Both of which would hopefully keep them in view for her to shoot them from her foxhole. 

The next scan came. Now there had been 3 casualties, 2 killed by Subtilizer it seemed. Her old teammate Dyne, and then Kakatoun ( _finished off after I did all the hard work!)_. The other sniper left in the game, Lion King Ritchey, had also been taken out by Yamikaze. And one of the game's best players, Itsuki, was closing in towards her. 

She waited.

 

!0 minutes later she heard a soft approach, padded footsteps on gravel still audible to her focussed senses (and her perception stats), and subtly and soundlessly she manoeuvred herself to try to glimpse him. And silently cursed. He was too cautious to rush into the tower, and cautious enough in fact that he hung back where she could get no angle on him. Plus he generally had a sniper rifle with him as well as a machine gun, so if she became visible he might get a chance to fire before her and that could be fatal. Her gamble, sound against most opponents, wouldn't pay off. And if he stayed long enough and got several more scans to pinpoint her, he'd work where she was and she would have no chance of getting out of this truck to attack without giving him a clear killing shot.

Plan B then. 

She crawled painstakingly to where the back of her truck reached the cabin window, able to tell roughly where he was, but not see him. _Good, that means he can't see me._ In quick succession, she released her exclusive decoy drone item, the rough hologram of her running flying out towards a bunker the other side of the tower, and thus away from her, and then simultaneously remote detonated her grenade and used the butt of Hecate to smash the rear window of the truck and roll into the front, beneath the dashboard. The eardrum-shattering explosion in the top of the tower covered the sounds of glass smashing and Shino hitting the van floor, and Itsuki fired a shot that she presumed passed straight through her decoy. She didn't see though, because she was busy slamming her knife into the accelerator pedal on the floor as she kicked the vehicle into gear. She then took a risk and dived back through the window and under her canvass in the cargo bed. 

The truck sped towards the area that Itsuki was hiding in, and she heard another loud shot and the sound of ricochetting bullets as he opened fire on the vehicle. She waited and lined up her shot from the back of the truck, and braced for impact as best as she could, hoping it wouldn't throw her out of the back. Luckily she just managed to stay in, shaken about but mentally prepared, fortunate that the vehicle frankly hadn't had time to build up genuine speed. As she had anticipated, Itsuki had thrown himself out of the way, and now circled around to approach the truck from behind, still firing with his machine gun at the cabin at the moment. 

_Big gamble by me. Big mistake by you._

She had worried he would realise faster than this and shoot at the back of the truck. He didn't. He died.

Now it was really serious, she couldn't risk anything as audacious as that again. She had fought phenomenally so far today, she knew, but she had also ridden her luck and she knew it would run out. With this few players left in the game she had to be meticulous.

Another update revealed that 2 other players were left, neither close to the other, both vectoring off from where she was, grazed on the metal floor of the four wheeler. Subtilizer, and Yamikaze (who had killed off Jushi X). She crept her way to the far side of Yamikaze, happy to put him between her and Subtilizer. 

5 minutes later, Yamikaze was sans head, trying to charge between sheltered ground, thinking his smoke grenades would save him, and only Shino and the original BoB champion were left.

Sudden Death. Hopefully not literally, as it might have ended up being the last time she was in a similar position. And the game of cat and mouse began.

Each of them tried to manipulate the other into the open, one trying to flank the other, the other trying to lead away the one into an ambush, each changing plans on the fly, dancing their way through every yard of the map, never quite letting either get a clear shot on the other and constantly alive to the threat of traps.

_Lucky that I'm a cat, eventually I'll get my prey!_

But slowly she was tiring and her endless patience was being worn gradually away, and she was growing more and more anxious of slipping up. She had no idea what weaponry he had brought with him, but the first tournament he had won using only a knife and a handgun, plus his terrifying natural killing talent and tactical prowess. This scenario was tailor made for him, and if she became led into a dense area or one where he could slip behind her, she was done for. She needed space for a shot, but every time she tried to disengage to taunt him into the open, or to get near a piece of high ground or cover, he somehow managed to shepherd her away from it with little noises, psychological warfare and games of lights and shadows. 

He was a ghost, a shadow, an intangible tangent just outside the circle of her perception, touching it just enough to control her reactions. A dark god of darkness, toying with her. She hated it. 

She decided all there was to do was to fall back, find a bolthole and then fall back on her more traditional tolerance, patiently letting him come to her where he could either beat her to the punch or not, none of this messing with her mind. Maybe she wouldn't make it back, but it was better than this. Suddenly though, she caught a glimpse of him, running around a corner just in front of her, firing a shot that she just managed to dodge. Craving a chance to meet her enemy after all the taunting, famished for the chance to do some fighting, she made a quick estimation and darted down another path in the city they had led each other to, planning to cut him off and get a clean shot down a straight street. 

But he wasn't where she expected him to pop out, and a sound behind her made her spin around, noticing the flashbang there just in time and shutting her eyes whilst throwing herself around a junction into an alley. She opened her eyes to find a man dropping from the roof above her, and just about managed to roll away and use her last smoke bomb to give her a desperate chance to flee, weaving through the narrow streets until she lost him, surprised that he hadn't fired at her. In fact he seemed to not have followed her.

_Right. I need that high ground now, to see where he's coming from and to play this game my way._

Fraught but calming herself and tempering her stress, she saw what she was looking for: a tall building, innocuous enough that there was no reason for her to have picked it out of the others, but it would give her options and vantage. She checked that Subtilizer wasn't behind her and headed in, picking the 5th floor half at random. Not at the top, as he would expect, but high enough to snipe from. Now it was on. She picked a room with a decent view and checked it out quickly for traps, before stepping up to the window to look for her pursuer. Now she could wait as long as she needed - there was only one entrance and she was covering that, and any window entry would make a noise. Let him ambush her now.

Then she sensed a movement, fluid and powerful as a springing cobra, to her right. She tried to turn as she brought her gun up, but she was too late, too slow. Too sloppy. He had his arm around her neck and his body behind her, his spare hand tossing her grenade belt away from them both to stop her from repeating his 1st BOB co-winner's trick of taking them both out at the last. Viciously but methodically, he choked her, her vision already darkening and her chest exploding with oxygen-starved agony. She struggled, wriggled, tried to break his grip so she could use anything, her now useless rifle, her pistol, her knife, her hands, her teeth! But he was too strong, that stat outstripping her by far, and as she faded into darkness, her stomach roiled as he whispered to her.

"I'm going to eat your soul, little sniper, and it's going to taste so sweet." 

_My soul?! What kind of weirdo is this? I'm going to lose. Am I going to die? Is this like Death Gun? I don't want to die, I want Kirito and Asuna, please don't take me away from them..._

That was her last thought before it was over, empty blackness taking her soul away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER!!!!!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Don't worry, she isn't dead.


	25. Reward or Consolation?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite a bit of smut, as will the next one be, though with some (later than I think it probably is canonically sorry) referencing of Sinon's Girl Ops arc
> 
> In a few chapters, we'll see what Shino has been up to in Alicization, and then there'll probably be a break once we catch up to where the anime is. But as soon as I'm not spoiling the canon story for anime watchers, I will be back, I'm excited for my post Alicization crossover with Llenn and her gang!

Shino couldn't be an ounce more thankful that she woke up, instantly in reality but seemingly aeons later after a period where she was sure she had gone to Limbo.

_I'm not dead!_

That seemed a bizarre thought coming out of a video game competition, but Subtilizer's choice of words had been so creepy and something about him, some hidden aura of menace and flat tone in his voice, it uncannily reminded her of Death Gun.

As it happened she was in the plaza, looking up at the result board. 2nd. Mixed feelings. She had been so sure she could win, that she was ready, and to do so without sharing the spoils, and had been confident that despite his reputation she could deal with anything the legendary Subtilizer could throw her way, so failing to do that, and being so easily predicted and shepherded to defeat at the end, that was hard to swallow. But she knew she had played a nearly perfect game. She'd taken out the most other players, a full third of the field by herself. She had been creative, patient, instinctive and accurate, and had cemented her name as one of the best players in the world. It just hadn't quite been good enough - as innovative as she had been at times, she still fell into traditional tactics and responses, and this guy clearly knew them and anticipated them as naturally as breathing. All in all, she had done herself proud and the disappointment she could deal with - winning this tournament was no longer something her psyche was dependent upon, thank the gods. She still felt that anxious itch, though, remembering her vanquisher's parting words and sinister drawl. It was something she'd talk to the others about, they couldn't seem to ever avoid controversy and peril in these games!

She received some upgraded body-armour as her prize, and was quickly swarmed by welcome, if a little overwhelming, congratulators and less welcome admirers, asking for a date from the great Sinon and receiving their rejection very firmly.

_I should bring Kirito, or better yet Asuna, on a date here where everyone can see. Maybe then they'd finally all take the hint!_

Speaking of which, all this attention was well out of her comfort zone, and she wanted to find out what those two most important people had thought about the fight. She answered questions as quickly as was courteous, except any that contained the word "date", and made her own congratulations to her acquaintances here, Dyne and Kureha especially for making the top 10. Then she logged out.

And transferred across to Alfheim.

It took only a few minutes of teleporting and then a direct rapid stroll that took closer to 20 minutes to get to her destination: New Aincrad. 22nd Floor. A certain forest, then a certain cabin. They were waiting there for her.

"Hey Sinonon!" Asuna's gentle enthusiasm was unmistakeable and inimitable. 

"We watched the whole thing in ALO with the rest of the gang." Kirito added. "You did great!

She frowned. "Not great enough. Subtilizer absolutely dominated me at the end." Both shook their heads at that.

"Shino-Chan, he seemed to be able to see the future. There's no reasonable way he could have known where you'd be right at the end. Sometimes you have to accept that someone had all the luck, or some chances that we'd never have." Kirito agreed. "Yeah Shino, it was like he had a 6th sense, but you can't account for that, and if you'd ended up in a firefight, I'm pretty sure you would have won. You played so well, some of that play was genius. Even if you did give the whole world a bit of a strip-tease: I seem to remember that the first time I got that view you beat me up!"

Mood lightened by her lovers' support and humour, a smile cracked through on Shino's face, as she punched Kirito lightly on the shoulder. "Well, the world didn't pretend to be a cute girl to trick me into helping them, right? You should have seen him, Asuna, copying your mannerisms shamelessly. Anyway, thanks guys. I agree, I shot pretty much flawlessly."

There was a brief interjection from little Yui, crashing excitedly into the room, who exclaimed that she was proud of "mummy", and gave her a hug before a smiling Kirito took her to bed.

They quickly talked through the event, as they started a stroll through their virtual woods, Asuna and Kirito letting her know what had been going on elsewhere in the match ("That Subtilizer guy was really efficient, manipulating the players around him. He started with no weapons and took them off his kills, I'm pretty sure he's military in real life with the coldness he had and his approach. That's probably where his tactical nous came from."), Shino explaining why she'd taken the choices she had, all before they reached the wonderful view of the waterfall they'd been making a beeline for.

It was gorgeous, glittering cascades of silver in what was now twilight, foam and mini-rainbow at its base from where the torrents clattered against smooth black rock and smooth flat water that reflected the darkening sky. Like a black mirror.

 _"A black mirror made to reflect everything about itself that humanity will not confront." That was Gaiman, probably via the Bible, and that concept inspired that British horror show a few years ago. But this dark mirror, it reflects the other things we don't confront often enough: our goodness, love_.

She glanced at Kirito. A bit like him, in some ways. All hidden depth, whereas Asuna is the white moon, lightening and enlightening everything, creating joy, gentle but with the power when needed to shift the whole ocean.

Shino's introspection was interrupted by Asuna holding her hand, warmth spreading along her now nippy fingers.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? The moon and the stars in the pool, the ripples the waterfall makes? Let's make the view even better!"

She made her meaning clear as with a quick click on the menu, her clothing vanished to leave her, dazzlingly similar in willowy beauty and seductive curves to her actual body, clothed in a white bikini top with red trim and a similarly coloured scanty sarong.

Since it had been rebooted, probably influenced by what Asuna herself had been through here and fears of the risks of the virtual world, ALO no longer had the capacity to switch off the Ethic Code, so actual nudity, and sadly given how horny she was feeling actual sex as well, were no longer possible here. Probably a wise move. Even so, the sight of the angelic Undine in very little left Shino hot below, a feeling added to by Kirito's lithe body now covered only in tight black shorts. Despite the lack of sex, they had been bothered enough with detail to give him a bulge underneath, though Shino knew from experience that it wouldn't harden here (though she'd put money on him being rock solid in his bedroom at home right now).

Happy to join the fun, Shino stripped too, switching to her own navy bikini. It was an odd garment that she was glad she didn't have to go through the physical action of getting into, because it had a little hole for her tail. The position of which did make her feel a little sorry that they couldn't be more intimate here- it would be well placed for teasing. Plus the tail was sensitive and would be an interesting addition.

Instead she enjoyed the view of the mystical shadowed woods and the simulated feeling of cool, soothing water on her skin and showering over her hair, and swam and paddled with her precious loved ones.

After some time passed, they towelled off and meandered back to the cabin, and as they did Asuna told Shino about her brother coming back from college to stay, and how her applications for a prestigious elective exchange programme abroad were going, and Kirito updated her on his tweaks to the virtual world interface he was perfecting and the new part time job he had been offered: by a company called Rath.

"Ah, like Alice in Wonderland?" Shino loved that book, and the nonsense babbling poem of the Jabberwocky managed to be deeply engaging despite or maybe because of its complete lack of explanation. It mentioned the Mome Raths. She thought she recalled they were some kind of pig like creature. Asuna chipped in.

"Yes, but he doesn't know exactly what it involves yet except that he'll be doing a Full Dive, so we aren't sure whether the name actually has anything to do with the book. Just that it's spelt that way. He's got to promise to be careful though, he always overpushes himself."

 _That was true._ Still, it sounded like it paid well, and anything involving Full Diving would be interesting at least. She told Kirito to be careful too though. He was reckless about his energy and his health. Despite his aunt and sister's best efforts, he still didn't eat enough. Hopefully once one day he moved in with her and Asuna they could get him to put on some weight- he adored Asuna's cooking, understandably as she was a stellar chef.

Tonight though she wasn't going to be in the kitchen, she had made a reservation at a very trendy restaurant for the 3 of them. Yugure, a very popular, inventive izakaya place that she'd had to book weeks in advance. Her treat, she had been that confident that Shino would do well in BoB, though obviously none of them could enjoy the meal as traditionally done with sake yet.

It was time for them to get ready, so they logged out and Shino quickly got changed into a sleek leaf green dress, and then hurried to meet the others, frustrated at the Tokyo public transport system slowing her down.

_I need to learn to drive a bike like Kirito-Kun, to avoid these delays._

She arrived to find Kirito and Asuna there, their table waiting. He was wearing a very dark grey suit with white shirt and thin golden tie, she dazzling with her hair perfect and in a midlength pink dress.

_Wow. They look great._

"You guys look amazing!" "You too, Sinonon, you're radiant".

Dinner with green tea and mocktails instead of traditional rice wine was still delectable. They joked and flirted, not hiding that they were an item all together, and picked at the selection of dishes brought out to them, from edamame and karaage, through kushiyaki, to yakisoba. Before too long they had polished everything off, Asuna footed the bill and they all headed to Shino's for "dessert". Getting the three of them on the bike was a squeeze and probably not the best idea, but Kirito had bought both his girlfriends their own helmet and rode slowly and carefully so Shino was willing to take the risk this one time, quite enjoying the feeling of Asuna's back against her front and her hands pressed between the other girl's pillowy breasts and the warm back of Kirito.

They rushed through the door, being together in public fuelling their desires, and Kirito and Asuna keen to "reward" Shino for her performance. First they had actual dessert, with Shinon having some mochi in the freezer, and a couple of beers that she had managed to acquire (they'd all drunk small amounts of alcohol before). Then, sitting Shino down in an armchair, the other two gave her a langurous joint striptease. On Asuna's instruction, which made her hot and flustered and aroused at the voice of command, Shino had her hand up her dress and over her underpants, starting to touch herself as she devoured the sacred dance in front of her, and Asuna and Kirito sensually, between kisses and little touches, helped each other out of their clothes, until she was left with the perfect sight of Asuna's firm buttocks and endless legs inches from her as she began to stroke Kirito to hardness.

Shino was already wet when Asuna twirled around to behind their boyfriend, fondling his nipples and pressing her bosum into his back, and fed his length into her mouth, again the sense of her lovers taking control adding to her erotic energy. She devoured the shaft, enjoying the umami taste and the unique, hard-soft feeling, even enjoyed the near gagging sensation she had as Asuna pushed him deeper down her, his groans turning her further and further on.

After a few breathless minutes of that, Kirito was pulled off her and immediately replaced by roaming hands that lustfully pulled her dress from her, leaving her in sodden panties and a bra that lasted one second before it was impatiently snapped off.

"Gods, Shino-Chan, you are just so delicious looking. We are going to eat you all up now."

A kiss to the face, hard, biting her lip lightly, making her yelp and moan in equal measure.  
Then, her own eyes restfully closed, two mouths revisiting bits of her body they knew so well. Wet fire sent tingles as it flickering over her neck, ears, thighs and breasts before finally making its home over a nipple and between her legs, stoking her own fire with laps and nuzzling and hot breath.

The tension in her built, helped along the way by the animalistic noises those mouths made as they loved her, and by the mix of the pure masculine and feminine scents of her aroused lovers. Finally her dam was broken when one of them, she couldn't tell who was where, entered her vagina with two hardworking fingers, and she crescendoed into loud joy.

"Ah, oh my word, I love you both!"

She was given some recovery time whilst they started to pleasure each other with their mouths as well, before Kirito started to take Asuna on the rug on the floor, her squeals reinvigorating Shino as she watched what was the most personal and private porn video ever.

Like Asuna, despite some protestations from Kirito, she had started taking the oral pill, a rather irregular thing to do in Japan. But it was always worth it for moments like this. First she joined them on the floor, kissing Asuna whilst Kirito ploughed into her, her hands on her breasts quickly and inevitably helping the other girl to climax. Then she flipped Kirito onto the floor and slid, cowgirl position, onto his now well-oiled penis, first rocking then bouncing aggressively up and down on him, rubbing herself as he placed hands on her hips. Soon her own breasts were cupped by Asuna's soft small hands and she felt her second crest coming, just as she felt him tense up and swell further inside her.

She couldn't tell who came first, but she saw stars and felt the warm eruption inside her and leak out. She prepared for a further rest on her boyfriend, but Asuna-Chan was in a clearly horny and filthy mood, easing her off Kirito and burying her head in the mix of sex fluids leaking from her, and using her tongue and finger to feed some of it to Kirito. She'd not done the latter before but they were so into it as a group that nobody complained in the slightest.

_I think this is time to see how Asuna likes my new toy._

She was really in her zone, which is when she liked to have people treat her this way, a fact that would shock anyone who only knew her in the non-intimate sense. But she was very much in to people taking control (though she still liked to be proactive herself) and into anal play, and Shino thought what she had planned would be a nice present for all three of them.

"Come with me into the bedroom, you two. I'm going to make this even more interesting and have a few things to add to the mix."

Hungry anticipation on their faces, they followed her.


	26. Reward

 

"That's right baby, take it for me."

30 minutes later Asuna was on her hands and knees on Shino's bed, face low biting a cushion, arse high in the air, muffled moans emitting from her delirious mouth as Shino picked up speed and rhythm behind her. Kirito was watching whilst slowly toying with himself, keeping himself hard, which was an easy task given the sheer erotic orchestra around him: The wet slaps of Shino's artificial cock driving into Asuna, her dirty talk as she got more and more into it and Asuna's puling of sheer wordless rapture as she took it.

She was situated right in the middle of the bed, but spread along its short axis - as Shino only had a single, this meant that Asuna's head was right by the edge, whilst her rear was almost over the opposite one and Shino could move into her from a standing position, giving her leverage to work away. She had started tenderly as if Asuna's vagina and surrounding area was a delicate thing, a flower she might mar if she were too rough. Certainly with pink petals and coating of dew, it looked as was as fragrant as one. But Asuna made her want and capacity for more very clear, a queer mix of submissive and imperious as she commandingly pleaded to be taken more forcefully. Shino figured she could go at least as hard as Kirito did, given she'd picked this dildo specifically as it was the same length as she made him out to be (not a monster but plenty big enough for enjoyment), though she was still getting used to how much force a given amount of hip movement gave, this was still her first time using the strap-on, and she'd had to go slowly at first just to coordinate things properly. She was a quick learner when it came to coordination though.

Shino had taken great time and care to make sure she was ready, though in that area lubricant hadn't been an issue. As soon as Asuna had seen her girlfriend wearing the grey strap-on, her already damp crotch had visibly flooded, now a sweet marshland that made appetisingly crude sounds with every intrusion. They had needed lubricant for the other toy that was being roadtested, mind: a small but significant plug that ended in a outlandish fluffy cat tail, inspired by Shino's thoughts about her own tail in ALO. Asuna loved attention in that area, but the absurdity of it, together with everything else going on, had made Shino worried she'd be scared off from it tonight. On the contrary, she had practically sprinted to get prepared for it, giddy like a puppy whilst Kirito applied soothing lube to her little rosebud and gently dilated her there with his finger and ever so slowly popped it in. The unspoken agreement between them all was that one day the plug would be replaced by Kirito's more organic toy,something they were all silently excited about, but Shino knew they ought to not rush activities in this area- she'd researched, as she did everything, and found that when it was built up to organically and gently, girls tended to have a great experience but failing to do that ended in trauma (emotional and literal) that put them off it for life.

As it was now, the tail was enough, and tugging on it whilst it was inside Asuna produced extra mewls and purrs of pleasure.

"Ha..a..ah..ha..."

"You like that don't you, taking my cock? Being my little kitty?"

"Yeeees, it's amazing!"

_I didn't really need to ask, she's already had one "little death" doing this. But making her say it is so hot._ Asuna was pretty helpless in this position, though Shino wasn't averse to making her more so with some cuffs or rope next time, if the other girl were game. Or the boy, he seemed fairly envious of all the kink. Even without anything else, this was Asuna's favourite position, exaggerated downward dog, whereas Shino preferred penetrative sex where she was on top, like cowgirl. Luckily, Kirito was a fan of both. Speaking of which...

"You're so dirty, baby, I bet you want two cocks don't you? You want Kirito inside you too..."

"Yes!"

"Well, this hole," she jiggled the tail, making Asuna squeak, "is probably not ready yet, honey, but you still have one spare. Are you going to swallow all of our boyfriend's lovely jism?"

"Ah huh!" She was nodding now, and shifted slightly onto her elbows so that her face was up and looked straight at Kirito.

"Put your big thing in my mouth, Kirito-Kun, both of you make me your little wife!"

So he did, striding across so that his tip popped in-between her lips, hand gently on the back of her head, and let the momentum from the cadence of Shino's pumping rock her mouth over his hot bulb.

_Taking her from behind like this, like a boy, is so sexy, I can see why boys like it so much. Next time I'll let her wear the dildo and ride her so she can see what it's like._

Asuna was tensing up again. Shino put one hand on her hip and the other stretched to reach her swollen button and pressed as she thrust faster once more, knowing her responsive girlfriend would explode any second.

With a gurgling sigh, she didn't disappoint, jerking as she orgasmed and meaning Kirito's cock slipped deep into her throat, making him lose focus and burst in her mouth.

With Asuna now collapsed in a heap on the bed, catatonic in the most wonderful way, transported to Nirvana, Shino and Kirito started one last round, her licking his end clean before letting him pin her down and use his hand to finish her off, already half there with the feeling of the strap-on putting tension on her vulva and the high of screwing Asuna to such a powerful orgasm.

She lay, completed, on the bed for a while.

"Next time, miss Flash, I'm going to let you do me with the strap-on. Then Kirito and I will tie you down, and we'll have fun with you together, and then one time, he'll let us be the ones fucking him".

He didn't deny it, just remained enigmatically quiet with a soft smile. They all dozed together, and then completed their weekend with an Asuna cooked breakfast.

Sadly the opportunity to further push each others' boundaries was delayed, all 3 of them busy with individual things, and they had hit that period of the month where Shino and then, if it followed as usual, Asuna were hit hard by their periods. Shino certainly was slammed by hers, the vicious cramping pain that kept her stuck at home and unable to attend school one afternoon hampering her as much as the revulsion she felt considering sex when she was bloody down there.

After that their scheduled didn't line up particularly well, though they did manage to share a date and to briefly catch up online. Due to the poor opportunity for crossover, Shino spent some more time with their mutual friends, something she had actually very rarely managed to do without one of the other two there. She found herself greatly enjoying it, a happy reminder that these days she actually had friends. She joined with Keiko, Suguha and Rika for tea and cake in ALO, as well as another friend of theirs, a girl called Lux. She'd met Lux once before, in one of her rare times where she'd hung out with this group alone before early in the year, and they'd all been involved in protecting the Sylph Guild Leader from Player Killer assassins. Lux had a floppy mop of platinum hair, and a very protective personality, which Shino guessed put her in good company amongst this group of girls.

Keiko called this squad "The Girl Ops", and the sweet shy girl, the baby of the group, seemed to love the thought of them all solving the issues of the Virtual world without men (though Shino couldn't help but notice their usual circles were pretty female-heavy anyway, thanks to Kirito's irritating habit to attract every pretty girl in a 20 km radius with some kind of magnetism). In this instance they took on a mission dealing with a gang of thieves as well as doing a quick quest together in a relatively new section of the now massive Alfheim - the expansion pack area of SvartAlfheim. It was a collection of huge floating islands of individual unique environments, and quite interesting- soon she'd like to return with the whole gang and do some quests there. The 'Girl Ops' exploration took in the new hub city, on an island covered in meadow.

_A wonderful place for a virtual date with the two most important people in my life._

Aside from that venture, Shino was caught up doing a lot of work at her jobs. Mama was set to be discharged soon, and when Shino visited each week both of them were more sure that she would be able to and want to return to work to earn some money, but Shino was desperate to be able to afford gifts for Kirito and Asuna's birthdays as well as needing to save money for college. She could get the grades for a scholarship she thought, but even so money would be an issue, especially with murmurs from Kirito about the potential to study abroad. That's what she had been focussed on working the past few months. School itself was going well, with it being a much more pleasant atmosphere now that she wasn't such a pariah- it seemed that fighting back against bullies and boosting her own self-confidence made a big difference there, even if she still wasn't everyone's favourite person. She was working hard to max out her grades there, and she missed Kyouji despite everything. In fact, she was due to visit him again after one of her shifts this weekend, to see how he was progressing.

She did get a chance to pop into GGO from time to time, where she felt a growing disquiet about a gang of PKers who were, without seeming to be competing for resources or monster XP, killing players in a growing part of that world in a coordinated, almost military manner. GGO had always been a PKer's game, but the seeming pointlessness and more weirdly the joynessless of their approach put her on edge, the ruthless clinical nature reminding her of Subtilizer and that reminded her of his menacing statement before he had killed her. She had a plan to find out more. The best way to get to know an opponent and get a better feel for their motivation was to engage them in combat. And next week it turned out that everyone was free, even Kirito despite it being after the first week of his mysterious spare time new job. In typical battles, these enemies had tactically adapted to every orthodox approach, one of the things that had put her in mind of Subtilizer, but she'd see how they dealt with an unconventional group. On the way back from work, she started to draft her plan of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably just one more chapter or two at most before we are into the new Season's material, so then there will be a slight delay!
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry for the patchy record on updating this story! I hope you're all still enjoying it.


	27. A Dark Vector

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've taken some liberty with the canonical plot, small tweaks to include the Throuple, and added Suguha into the Season 3 GGO scene (and made it longer and more badass I hope)
> 
> I hope you guys don't mind.

Scurrying through the undergrowth, Sinon led the two mercenaries (well, they looked like mercenaries) away from the rest of their group. She knew they would follow shortly behind. Indeed, she counted on it.

Twenty minutes earlier she had crashed their party, a coordinated and vicious attack on a group of unsuspecting soldiers who were trying to consolidate some territory, in a big way. She'd known, from looking at the patterns of ground that this gang seemed to cyclically target and wipe out teams within, that they'd show up here or somewhere close by tonight, and she'd been waiting. Had helped a bunch of the victims, to whom she felt no particular allegiance - they just happened to be the enemy today of her own enemy, the organisation that continued acting in a way, ganging up and PKing everyone without clear reason, that she had decided she wouldn't tolerate, that rubbed her up entirely the wrong way. In doing so, she'd achieved two of her real targets: sniped off several of the aggressors' number, catching a couple in traps as well, and had drawn their ire and their attention onto her.

There had been half a dozen that scouted out ahead of their army to take her out. That there were now only 2, with the rest tailing a bit behind, should have been a clue that these two were living on borrowed time. But it was more important that she lured the whole squadron to where she wanted them, and disrupted their whole plan as much as possible. Finally, they reached to where she wanted them. An opening. With a dead-end. It seemed like she was trapped.

Emphasis on seemed.

"Stop! There's nowhere to run!"

But they were the ones who stopped as she turned with a demonic grin. And then the cavalry arrived. First hers, then theirs.

A humvee with Gatling gun on the roof, little Silica blitzing a rain of bullets at them as they dropped and cowered, Leafa using her SMG to cover any sneak approaches from behind, keeping guard out the back, Klein with his assault rifle on his back driving the vehicle and the coup de grace applied by Lisbeth, riding shotgun and firing shotgun into the now prone enemies.

A large group of the opposition then clattered into the grove, cleverly from a different direction, but not wholly unexpected. Shino knew that another unit (and then several more beyond that) would come from another angle as well, based on watching and investigating past attacks, and she'd known you couldn't guess exactly where that would be, so each of their group was set up to look out for enemies from a certain approach, and this bunch came into Silica's view. She shouted a warning, then mowed some down, and carnage started.

The mercs were caught unaware, several macerated with the hailfire, several scattering just as another group arrived. Then with shotgun shells, bullets, a squeal of tires as Klein ran down several in the jeep, the attackers found themselves struggling against the strange mix of attacks they had thrown at them, as well as the skill of this small unorthodox group. In the midst of it, unostentatious compared to the large, noisy vehicle spewing lead, Shino calmly and collectedly took aim at enemy head after enemy head and took them off, Hecate ravenous in her bloodlust today.

Just as the tide looked like it might turn when yet another pile of the military unit turned up, now very cautiously thanks to the warnings they would have heard over their radio, and the sounds of bouncing bullets and yells of fear, Klein threw a smoke grenade and the real surprise and the real slaughter began. Confused and entrenched in thick dark smoke, the mercs holding off shooting until they could avoid their own men (and women), there was a pause in the action, an eternal silence. Then the thrum of two energy swords activating in near unison, and the haze of two streaks of violet light diffused out, tinting the smoke. Then danced.

In the hands of Kirito and Asuna, each as elegant and unremitting as the other, the group were cut down in a supernatural flow, and the the remnants fled. Shino (and the others) knew this was also a ploy, similar to hers, to drag them into an ambush, but she didn't care. The two swordfighters swept out after them as she tracked, from cover, a bit further behind. The rest of the group took the jeep and cycled around to come at where their foes would be from behind. The ambush that had been sent opened fire on Asuna and Kirito as they hurtled into the next glade, and this was why Shino hadn't worried: they weren't prepared to deal with those two.

They batted away bullet after bullet, until Asuna pranced through the fire and slashed a man down, followed swiftly by Kirito who disemboweled another. Then finally someone came up with a clever response against the close combat specialists - firing a grenade into the mix. Shino figured they could evade it quite easily, or kick it away, but why take the risk? She shot it out of the air, and followed up with a shot at the man who fired it, getting a wave of thanks from Kirito-Kun.

Just as she was getting excited to see how her makeshift army did against the rest of this group of aggressors now that both were aware of each other, to test herself against their commander tactically and to hopefully teach them a lesson and push them off the landscape here and hopefully to stop them ruining players' fun and progress, the reinforcements she was expecting didn't turn up and the surviving forces disengaged. Apparently rather than taking on her challenge as she was sure they would, they'd decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

_How aggravating._

Still, she could call this a success by any measure. And if her theory about who was leading this operation were accurate, she'd learnt a lot, and confirmed a few ideas she had.

The gang took this as an opportunity for celebration, settling down for chat and drinks at one of the pool bars the capital of GGO had, Shino noticing a few acquaintances there too. Klein took on Shino at pool whilst Kirito napped and the other girls all caught up around a table with virtual barsnacks and soft drinks. Obviously she won, two games in a row, hand-to-eye coordination not a thing she struggled with, and then laughing they handed the cues over to Kureha, exchanging a few pleasantries to one of Shino's better friends outside of this group. They all played around a bit more, generally having fun until soon they all had to leave. As they went, letting an exhausted Kirito, whose new job and own technology work together with schoolwork and excursions like this had led him to debilitation, sleep whilst standing, Shino reminded Asuna that tomorrow evening was date night. Casual on this occasion- they would go for a walk and then drinks and snacks at the Dicey Cafe.

After logging out, Shino looked at her theory some more before bed. The feel of the operation they had faced today, as well as the tactical approach and military efficiency gave Shino a strong hunch, one she couldn't dismiss, that they were led by Subtilizer himself. And the way they had been curveballed and then had disengaged when faced with a very unpredictable, unorthodox force gave her hope that her plan would work.

It felt like eons meandering along to their date the next day. The walk was pleasant, the weather mild with threats of rain so they all had to wear jackets and Kirito had brought an umbrella just in case. Once they sat down at the cafe, they chatted generally about life for a bit, Shino snarking that Kirito wasn't eating enough (to be fair he was looking skinny - he was meant to be doing weights as part of his rehab), which drew indignation when Asuna teasingly joined in. In doing so, she made a gun signal with her hand, which the others noticed, commenting on how her symptoms when firearms came up in real life had improved.

_Yep. Sinon and Shino are one person now, mostly. And it's largely thanks to you two..._

She waved it off, though, embarrassed to have her recovery the focus, but was touched when Kirito asked about Kyouji and his recovery. A guy he had no interaction with to have any concern for, only meeting him as the disdainful, jealous Spiegel on GGO, the menacing Death Gun shortly afterward and attempting to rape her in real life. He had absolutely no reason to care if Kyouji got better, no attachment to her old friend who had once helped her, but because she cared, Asuna and Kirito both cared. When she'd asked before how they could do that, when caring about Kyouji's recovery felt complicated even for her, Asuna had shrugged. "We all do bad things, and good people can be corrupted by what life throws at them. If you see or knew enough good in him from before for you to forgive him, then he must be worthy of redemption. We trust you."

Anyway, she updated them on him, and on the last remaining Laughing Coffin member to be found ("Well, last one in the Death Gun group that we know. Nobody ever caught their original leader, PoH, and he wasn't on the killed list that Kirito was shown by the government." "Yeah, but he's not active at least. Johnny Black was just as bad, and attacked people that recently. I'm sure they'll find him soon, though. Probably miles from here."), then led into her idea, mentioning the ambush they'd laid on GGO the night before as well as reminding them of her battle in BoB, and how Subtilizer had outflanked and outplanned her. How he'd psychically predicted what she'd do, because in the end she was a veteran player and had grown to act a certain way naturally, a kind of in game reflex. Reflexes they didn't share, having learnt gaming in different worlds, with different dynamics (and lived in those worlds), and gained different reflexes, but ones they were amazing enough to apply to GGO.

Both nodded throughout. Then she suggested it. They should both join with her in the next BoB, helping each other until one of them won (and so she hoped she'd finally get her fair fight Vs Kirito, long awaited, though if she ended up one on one Vs Asuna she'd relish that challenge too. She felt Kirito probably had the edge at deflecting shots and would be lethal once he was close, but Asuna was slightly nimbler, faster and could dodge just as well whilst being much more proficient at long range - she couldn't rely on staying at a distance from her, accurate with an assault rifle). She was sure the completely different styles of their attacks, the dangerousness at short range and their lack of ingrained "normal" GGO moves would make them perfect to disrupt Subtilizer. She wanted to try more unorthodox attacks on him herself but knew she probably would eventually fall into learned habits, and wasn't too proud to ask for help. Help both of her lovers were delighted and excited to offer.

"Of course we'll help, Sinonon! I can't wait to see if Mother's Rosario can be approximated in GGO, to be honest, let's see anyone dodge that combo."

"Hey! You're inviting Asuna along as well? We won BoB together last time!"

"Well, someone needs to keep an eye on you! And it may as well be me, otherwise you might fall asleep mid battle the way you've been lately."

All in good fun, the three of them smiled. This was banter, though based in truth.

"That's fair. It's this new job, it's been tiring me out. It's funny you mention living in a game world, it's kind of relevant."

Shino's interest was piqued now, and she thought Asuna's too. Kirito hadn't spoken much about this project he was helping the mysterious Rath with. He had been sworn to secrecy, but said he could tell them anyway- he trusted both of them with his life and with anything he knew. He just hadn't gotten a clear enough grasp on things yet to feel informed to inform them. Obviously that had changed.

They urged him on.

He delved into the Full Dive job at Rath, firstly by confirming that it was Full Dive technology being looked at, and he was making Full Dives.

This much Asuna had known.

"Sorry I didn't tell you, Sinonon, I found out the other day, and I got Kirito this."

She showed Shino an app on her phone that measured his heart rate and other vitals. Inspired by the electrodes that had saved him Vs Kyouji and monitored him during BoB when she'd been at his (and indirectly, Shino's own) side.

"I got it to make sure he's ok in the Dive. I should share it with you. It's reassuring, especially with one as troublesome as him. Rath actually inserted the chip and they offered me, as his official partner, this option to monitor him."

Shino didn't mind. She knew that she was the late addition to this set up, and trusted Asuna to look after their boyfriend. A joke sprang to mind though.

"Measures Heart Rate, Respiration and Temperature, eh? Are you sure we shouldn't be using it to make sure he's not cheating, having sex without us?"

She punched his shoulder to make it clear it wasn't serious, and he spluttered in an affronted way. Asuna goggled, as intended.

_It's amazing that we're comfortable enough together to say that kind of thing._

After glaring at them both, Kirito continued. Rath had a new form of Full Dive technology, called Soul Translator. As it sounded, it was deeper than previous neuron reading techs. It read what their scientists believed contained the Soul itself, the energy of life and the spark of consciousness that actually enabled the brain to hold things like identity and memory. Something deep inside cells, in microtubules (Shino recognized that name from Biology, something to do with cell division), an energy in light form called Fluctlight.

This was an amazing discovery in itself, and the word "Soul" intrigued Shino. She couldn't think why right now. Kirito continued.

The Translator interacted directly with Fluctlight, somehow, and could imprint short term memories there as well as reading data from it, which could tap straight into senses and perception at a level beyond brain perception, instinctive and visceral and more vivid. Creating a life like dream that felt completely real. It could also compress that information in a way that neurologically based tech couldn't, expanding or compressing time itself as it was perceived, and thus meaning time spent in that "dream" could be much faster or slower than reality.

Kirito was testing it.

He had spent 3 days in the Dream with Rath on his most recent (and fatiguing, it seemed) Dive, but had no idea how long that had been in the created world, as his memories of it hadn't been retained - intentionally left temporary and locked away for confidentiality purposes. But he knew it was longer. What he was in, as he remembered and understood, wasn't a game as such but a realistic simulation of a world, in full detail, that people could exist in. It was called Underworld.

_Ah. Another Alice in Wonderland reference._

Asuna had picked it up too. "That's what the world in the Lewis Carroll book was originally called, before he changed it!" All very curious.

Kirito didn't know much more, but when talking more about the theories about the Soul, he jogged her memory. Subtilizer, when he had seemed super-creepy, had mentioned eating her soul. She mentioned this, and they'd all looked concerned but couldn't think of any particular link to this project, or any actual way he could target a soul. They did all acknowledge that it made them uneasy.

Kirito's news was exciting though. She couldn't wait to hear more as he delved deeper into this new tech. She imagined the applications both in hyperrealistic sim games, but also outside that - in simulation training for doctors, or policemen or pilots. "Or the military" muttered Kirito darkly when she said this out loud. Asuna had another suggestion though. "Well, they used the Medicuboid to foster reflexes and keep minds working in sick bodies whilst they found cures for people like Yuuki, even if for her it was just, though important, an interim measure that gave her joy in the end. This technology focuses on the Soul. Could it have medical uses? What about helping with psychological issues by simulating scenarios better than therapy? Or can you add in data to a soul that can fix a mind or brain when things go wrong? We know the brain works in networks rather than structurally, maybe it can be rewired if actual consciousness is present everywhere in this accessible Fluctlight? It's so interesting."

_Maybe it could help Kyouji._

It was late though, and time to prepare for another normal day of school. Before they left, sharing tender kisses, Kirito revealed that he was thinking of studying and working abroad, probably in the US, next year, where technology was going in new directions and the courses at big Colleges and internship opportunities were amazing. His English was strong, so he had a good chance, but he wanted, if they did, Asuna and Shino to come with him.

It wasn't a big surprise. She'd suspected this, and hoped that with her grades and her attempts to save she could get a foreign student scholarship somewhere in North America, and would love to see a new culture. Asuna too was keen, with academic credentials like her and a business pedigree that her family wanted her to pursue. She could do that there. It needed further discussion, but they could do that later. Shino was sure they could it, could work it out, and life outside of traditionalist Japan might make their relationship easier. She'd have to talk about her options with the school advisor.

She gave the other two, who were going to walk Asuna back to her weektime School dorm together, a final kiss goodbye before taking the bus home. She walked up her stairs and into the flat pretty satisfied with how things were.

There was uncertainty in her life, yes, but more happiness than she had imagined, a promising future, friends, a way to win BoB, a recovering mother and two lovers that meant the world to her.

Then it all came crashing down.

In one phonecall, from Yuuki Asuna.  
She never rang, always messaged.

Shino felt an icy pit, the Hell of old Norse Mythology, bleak and cold and terrifying, in her stomach.

She picked up. The voice on the other end was choking with tears.

"Shino, it's Kirito. It's bad. He's really sick. Please come. We need you. That Laughing Coffin guy, he got him with poison.

His heart stopped."

And it felt like hers did too.


	28. Threnody

Shino sat there in a hospital waiting room. Numb.

Asuna's hand was in hers, both rubbing slowly and trying to calm each other's nerves, which were in tatters. Red-eyed, Sugu and her mother sat across from them. They all waited. An eternity in near silence, nobody having the words yet to make anything better. Hoping that the doctors would have those words for them, that they'd say Kirito would be ok. The air was almost solid with fear, fear Shino hadn't felt since learning that a murderer might be beside her body, all those months ago when she'd just met Kirito. She'd never seen Asuna afraid either, but she was now. The one good thing about the long wait in this overly bright, soulless room was that she could catch her breath back. As soon as Asuna had called, she'd ran her lungs to pieces, unable to think straight enough to opt for public transport or a taxi, and hadn't stopped until, heaving and legs feeling like slabs of half-formed clay, she'd run into a tearful Midori arriving outside this hospital. They'd hugged, unable to do more. 

After an aeon, an epoch, a man and a woman in white coats stepped out, and beckoned them into the sterile, spartan recovery room. They didn't have the words they'd all hoped for. 

"I'm very sorry you all have to be here. I wish I had better news. Kazuto is out of danger, but his heart stopped for a long while and we think his brain could end up damaged. He appears to be in a coma, it may well be that he has some permanent physical or mental disability. Or he may never wake up."

Those words, delivered professionally but impersonally, coloured with detached sympathy, took a while to sink in as they watched the man all 4 of them loved in their own way, looking restful asleep in the bed, all except for the drip in his arms, the drugs running through and the tube sticking out of his mouth, alien sights on a familiar body, almost funny in their contrast to his peaceful face. 

Shino felt her heart sink further, deeper than the abyss it was stuck in, half a decade of depression she thought she had just about conquered hammering at her mind again. _If he dies, or never wakes, then none of this will have been worth it. I wish he'd left me to Death Gun and stayed alive._

The doctors and police, as they had flitted transiently into the Purgatory of that waiting room, had said that the man who had assaulted Asuna and Kirito had been the missing member of that Death Gun group, Johnny Black by alias, and like the other members, his weapon had been Succinylcholine, medically Suxamethanium, a drug that paralysed your muscles including your breathing ones. It was used to anaesthetise people, but in a huge dose all at once it could, and did to Kirito, stop your heart. It was the drug she'd feared he'd been hit with when he came to save her in her apartment, and the one she had twice nearly been victim to. This was clearly all related to the Death Gun plot, revenge of some sort, so if he hadn't foiled that, and she'd died instead, then he would be here, living his life.

The guilt was killing her. 

She'd missed something the doctors had said. A scan? A different hospital? It didn't matter. Things felt pretty hopeless at this point. After they all sat with him, muttering prayers or encouragement one by one, Shino begging him not to die under her breath, they all left the room, deflated. Midori had gone to fill in the paperwork to get him to a specialist unit, and Asuna, voice taut with guilt and sadness, filled Sugu and Shino in on what had happened.

"It was after we'd finished meeting you, Sinonon. We went outside, talking about America, and we both realised this guy had been tailing us..." That guy had been a murderer they'd both known from Aincrad, but they hadn't realised it yet. He'd tried to ask for a coat, but Kirito had sensed something was off, then recognised him as he attacked with a crazed look in his eye, what looked like a knife in his hand. Kirito had pushed Asuna away, to get her away from danger, then turned with little time to react, tried to stab the man with their umbrella, but his spin and his lack of time meant he misjudged. He went for his legs, and actually punctured the villain's thigh muscle (they'd discovered that when the police had picked him up, limping close by, unable to run and losing blood), but hadn't seemed to realise that he was in the reach of the bastard, and that what the man had in his hand was no knife but a syringe. He'd only been able to land it on Kirito's left chest side, but that was enough with the neurotoxin in it. Sobbing, Asuna had tried to wake Kirito up as the killer crawled away, ignoring everything but her boyfriend, and when she saw on her phone that his heart had stopped, she panicked, shouted for help, and tried to give CPR but realised she had no training in how to do it, and had no idea, other than trying to breathe in his mouth, how she was meant to proceed. Crying she had called for an ambulance and then the police and tried her best, but obviously now she was distraught that her best had left Kirito potentially damaged for life.

By the end of her tale, she was shaking with tears. 

 

Shino hugged her tight, letting her let it all out.

_I guess we both have some guilt around this. But Asuna did everything she could, the fault lies with the bastard that attacked then._

As Shino consoled Asuna, together with Suguha explaining how it wasn't her fault, how she'd done everything in her power and she wasn't a doctor who was trained in saving lives, the sliver of Sinon that was left, mostly merged with the new confident Shino but with a spark of independence, drifted insidiously to another person.

_Johnny Black. He would probably be here, under police escort, getting his wound seen to._

"You are not even a tiniest fragment to blame here, Asuna. I'm more to blame than you, but there is one person who can truly be blamed. And he's probably right here in this hospital."

White hot anger, and a new icy sensation, still furious but more calculating and fixated, filled her, and instinctively she started to move toward the door. The vengeance in her heart had obviously shown through on her face, because, suddenly concerned, Asuna wrapped her arms around her from behind and Suguha stepped across her to block the exit.

"Shino-Chan, confronting the one responsible won't fix anything, it won't even make you feel better. Of all people, you should know that."

That was true. Accidentally killing one man had ruined her life and her mind for years. Angry as she was, how could she consider harming another one?

"Besides, if it did, you'd have to beat me there first." For a moment the worried, grief stricken gentle soul before them became the steely eyed Vice-Commander of the Knights of The Blood Oath, the feared warrior they called the Lightning Flash, her face now one of the Furies, or Nemesis, manifest.

Together they calmed down, and with Midori-San returning, headed off out of the hospital together, still in shock, though coming out of it, beginning to make a few jokes to lighten the mood, until they were interrupted by a somewhat unwelcome face. Kikuoka-San.

"Sorry girls, I need to take a moment to talk to Kazuto's parents if it's ok."

Well, Midori was right here, having just finished signing paperwork to upgrade her adopted son's care. Her husband had been sorting out the payment for the whole affair, but she could go and get him now. He implicated that the Japanese government might help them out with that aspect, but asked to talk to the "adults in private".

Obviously they couldn't refuse, though his presence made Shino feel uneasy. He had been involved in Kirito being drafted into the Death Gun affair, and though she was thankful for how that had panned out, she knew he wouldn't think twice about using teenagers to help achieve the ends he needed, and she knew Kirito hadn't completely trusted him. The looks on Asuna and Suguha's faces implied they felt the same way. Plus it delayed their journey back and soured the improving atmosphere.

_What is he up to?_

Eventually they left the hospital and headed back to the Kirigaya household at Midori's invitation, as she felt Shino and Asuna wouldn't want to be alone after such a trying night. It was pretty late now, and after a rushed dinner, and tight hugs and emotional goodnights to the sorrowful parents and scared sister of their boyfriend, Asuna and Shino went to Kazuto's room, and went to bed. Neither had any drive to be sexual, but instead relied on another intimacy, Asuna wrapping Shino in her arms as they fell into a broken sleep, both shifting and moving through the night until the hushing and cooing of the other soothed them back from their self-induced nightmares and guilty, unsilencable thoughts into peace once more.

Shino relived her worse moments that night. Facing the mad look on her best friend as she feared he'd assault her. Hearing her Papa had died in an accident. Hearing her mother break down for the first time. Seeing the man she had shot bleed out in front of her. And now seeing Kirito in that bed, wires and tubes sticking out of him, whilst she heard Asuna weep in the background. If she lost Kirito...

Unlike her old visions, she had help with the paralysis now, in the form of the brave, gentle beauty sleeping beside her, comforting her in a way that younger Shino had never had access to, and she felt good knowing she could comfort Asuna too in what were clearly similar relivings of bad old memories and simulations of new fears

The next day they visited the hospital again after school (they had been allowed to miss it, but yearned for the distraction), only to discover that this day could get worse.

Kirito had been moved to a more sophisticated hospital, which was great. But when they tried to visit with Sugu, they simply were not allowed in.

 

 

 

The National Defense Medical College Hospital said that he was there with them. But they could not see him. Given that this was Kikuoka-San's choice, that seemed suspicious.

_Maybe it's my bias against him. But I think we need to talk more about this, work out what is going on. And I mean all of us._

The next day, having answered dozens of messages from their frightened friends, Asuna set up a meeting in ALO to update everyone properly, to let them share in their concerns and their grief. And in the meantime, she, Shino and Sugu got to work, along with their secret weapon.

Yui-Chan.

This time, they did skip school, quoting compassionate reasons, and they did return to both hospitals, but not to try and see Kirito again, but to make some inquiries and, using Yui as a way in, to check some records remotely. To their lack of surprise, Kirito had never actually arrived in his new hospital. Well, on paper he had - the records claimed he had been admitted last night. But the ambulance that left with him from their local medical centre, with a specific licence number, had never checked in. Kirito was somewhere else.

As for where, it was deeply unclear. They had some ideas to share with the others, due to meet them in less than an hour. The mysterious Rath seemed highly plausible as culprits for getting involved, given the secret nature of Kirito's work with them, and the idea that his mind might be affected. Shino had figured that if anything could fix the mind, a connection to it directly, even beyond the brain itself, might be the way to do it, and the Soul Translator sounded like it could do that. Asuna had agreed, musing on how the Medicuboid was used to help condition and block out the world for patients like Konno Yuuki. Maybe this related machine could do something similar for Kirito? On that note, Sugu revealed she might know where Rath had such devices, but wanted to wait until they met the girls to say more.

Mr K's appearance was also suspicious, and he could be involved in some way, but Shino frankly thought he was involved with Rath. Certainly it fitted in his area and Kirito had implied his vague involvement previously. Certainly he, and thus likely Rath, were more than they seemed to be - Kirito had thought he had high level government or military links based on the knowledge he had had. Asuna had thought of their best method to find out where Kirito had gone though. She had his heart monitor app. The signal had been out of range or not reading since the accident, but there should still be traceable data for anyone with the ability to read and extrapolate it. Which Yui did.

Yui had seemed very confused and saddened when Shino and Asuna explained what had happened to her "Papa", then very excited in how she could help, both when they were searching for information in the hospitals and now. She was sifting through the information, and still part way through when the meeting time arrived.

It was time to enter Alfheim, and try to puzzle together what to do next.

After broaching the bad news in full with a wide-eyed Lisbeth and Silica, (Klein and Agil stuck at work, and not willing to involve anyone outside of the main group for now) they delved over this information they had collected, agreeing that he had been taken elsewhere. Suguha revealed that Kirito had been travelling to Roppongi for his work with Rath, so she was sure they had a headquarters and possibly a Soul Translator there, which was one lead. And then Yui came back with the data analysis from the heart monitor. His last transmission that she could read without picking up the signal again was in the docks of Midori Ward.

_Two leads. 6 of us, with Yui. So, 2 groups of 3._

It was decided. Asuna, Yui and Suguha would go to check out the last signal with Klein. And Shino would check out Roppongi with Silica and Lisbeth.

It was time to find out what (and hopefully who) Rath was hiding.


	29. Resolution

Later that evening, Shino led Keiko and Rika to Roppongi, conveniently in Minato, the same ward as the others' lead at the docks was in. They didn't have a lot to work off - Suguha didn't know any more about where Rath were or where Kirito had had to head to work with them aside from it being in this district, and frankly there were a lot of buildings that could house an organization like this.

_Roppongi means "Six Trees", named after 6 old zelkova trees that used to stand here, but you wouldn't know it now._

The District was best known for its nightlife, and was full of bustling crowds at this time of the day, with modern buildings and clubs, a mix of upscale Japanese modern day experience, cosmopolitan streets full of tourists and 'expatriates' with their embassies and international restaurants and few spots that were still known to be Yakuza strongholds. Unless Rath were Yakuza-backed though (and that wasn't impossible by any stretch of the imagination), these areas weren't likely to throw up answers. There were several big businesses here, even Google Japan, and near to those one might find a new, secretive company like Rath (who sadly had very little information to spy into online), but conversely they could be in an inconspicuous side alley.

For most groups of teenagers this would seem hopeless, but they were all determined, and had their secret weapon. Although Yui couldn't split her consciousness to two completely different tasks, and was vital in Asuna's side of the mission, she could appear and travel between two distant physical locations via digital information as long as she had access to a specific modem-like device (and thankfully Kirito had made several for this very purpose and entrusted each of his girlfriends with one), and she helped them in their search, scanning the records in buildings that the girls passed, in areas they had marked on their map (with some expert and rapid googling) as possible yield sites, for certain words that the team had agreed were specific enough to merit their attention. Some, like "Kirito" and even "Rath" itself, were always going to be hidden in some kind of verbal code and they hadn't expected any pick ups (Yui could naturally break a lot of basic digital encryption but actually codewords and old style ciphers couldn't automatically be worked around and she had too much to do to focus hard on the data from any individual places). But a few of the words had appeared in just a handful of buildings. They scouted these out for viability, and quickly narrowed things down, driven by Lisbeth who thankfully had bought a car earlier this year.

They still had a couple of places to go back to look at, but Shino was pretty sure this next spot was the one. Yui had picked up some very suspicious words in their peripherally accessible files. The anagram STL for one, an anagram that would be indecipherable to so many but Kirito had told them they used as shorthand for "Soul Translator. The street was innocuous, but not far from a few technology giants' HQs, off the grid but accessible. There was little else of interest on it, a couple of tiny shops and apartment buildings, nothing to attract foreigners and not a lot of foot traffic. The building itself was nondescript but closer inspection revealed it to be in much better condition than those around it and already there were signs of advanced technology within it, including security cameras at all angles. It was unmarked, but as they left the car, Yui present in their device trying to have a closer look at their files without alerting anyone there, they saw the word they were looking for in small, easily missed letters above the front entrance.

"Rath".

Not "Rath incorporated" or "Rath company". Just that name, and an obscure, abstract looking logo of a jagged quasi-triangle with a green circle and a smaller red circle inside.

_Bloody creepy logo if you ask me._

By the side of the atrium as they passed in, Shino read an inscribed plaque. "See through the Looking Glass, into the future." More Carroll references. This was the right place.

"We are here, ladies." Whispered to the other two, that was. Despite the bland exterior, the entrance hall was sleek and shiny, though minimalistic. With obviously very advanced security measures, all doors locked with card key access. A bored looking receptionist was at the desk. Maybe they could bluff their way in? Rika was going to try. However, Shino quickly noticed the holster hidden beneath her blazer, the way it altered the cut jarringly obvious as soon as you realized it was there. The boredom was also superficial: there was a wariness and a readiness underneath. Trained security. They had to be careful.

As Rika tried to talk, Yui came up in Shino's ear-piece "Mummy, aside from the documents I accessed earlier, which were notes and on that computer on the desk and an open email, everything else here is highly encrypted. I can hack in, but they'll know it's happening and they'll know it's us, and they have enough protection to track the device it is from. I'm sorry." This bad news was compounded by the desk-guard coolly refusing to engage in any conversation, and requesting they leave. Gutted, they had no choice, and the feeling of failure left Keiko on the verge of tears. Rika looked furious, but Shino had one idea left...

_The internal data on their system is all in code. But the CCTV cameras will be on a different system, and you don't tend to encrypt that kind of visual data on a non- intranet set up. Maybe Yui can have a look at that, if Kirito arrived here he must have been in view from at least one of those cameras or they aren't doing their job._

"Ladies, let's not despair. This isn't over. Yui-Chan, you can't access the computerized data, right, but have you looked at the video camera system? It'll be separate and that kind of information isn't easy for algorithms to hack or humans to interpret, so if you can draw the data directly from the cameras' feed or storage, maybe we can check it out? If we see Kirito, or a suspicious vehicle, arrive in the last 36 hours then we know he's come here, if not then he probably can't be here."

"Checking." A pause, painted with mixed hope and nervousness on the other members' faces. "Confirmed, Mummy, the images are not coded beyond normal measures. Running the videos from each camera, accelerated." Hope tightened her breathing as Yui brought up the security footage from a superlatively secretive agency on their smartphone screens. Hope that was snuffed out. Nothing. Except their car, and employees arriving on foot and pedal bike, no vehicles had come to this building in the critical time period. A red herring. Time wasted.

Rika, frustrated, had said those last few sentences verbatim and loudly. Keiko wasn't quite so discouraged. "No, this is better than where we were before. We know that he wasn't taken here, rather than it being an untestable option when we got kicked out. That makes Asuna's lead more likely to be accurate. Let's check in." Even as she reassured them, Asuna coincidentally called Rika, who quickly explained what they had (not) found. The call ended. Now it was time to wait and see what they had unearthed, now in the spot that Yui had last picked up Kirito-Kun's signal.

10 minutes, after a couple of hours of driving around in a car ticking spots off a map, never ended. Finally, Asuna checked back in again. She sounded distraught, the phone on speaker. "He was picked up by some kind of helicopter, and then we can't trace the signal anymore, it went too high in the air and could be anywhere. I'm sorry guys, I don't know what to do."

What they all felt in that moment, surely the others feeling the same way as Shino did and Asuna sounded like she did, was despair.

 

 

"Mama, don't give up." What was this spark of hope? "When Papa lost you and you were hurt like him, he never gave up." Well, that was true. He never gave up on anything, it seemed, not when Death Gun seemed certain to prevail, not when Shino had tried to shut him out, not when Asuna had lost her memories. Was this situation worse than any of those?

"Yui is right." It was Shino's job to pick up her girlfriend when things seemed lost. "We just have to think more about the information we have. You guys talk there, and we will here on our way back, and we can reconvene at the Dicey Café. I don't want to risk any online observation, and Kikuoka-San knows where we meet in ALO, and possible GGO too knowing him." He was surely involved. Rath stank of his furtiveness, his clandestine agenda hidden behind an impassive faint smile.

That was her clue. None of her group knew any more about Rath, who remained invisible online, nor had any other leads, but Shino knew about Kikuoka, a little, and knew what Kirito had suspected about him. National Self-Defence Force, that was where they thought he had come from. And that fitted in well with a helicopter ride. Together they brainstormed, thinking how Kikuoka, the military and the government and Kirito could all connect together, Kirito's disappearance surely as linked to his usefulness to the former as to any way of helping him regain consciousness - Kikuoka played nice to get the things that he wanted. That was it. Kirito had postulated that Kikuoka was interested in the military applications of VR, but more in-depth simulation using the mind or soul rather than mere brainwaves didn't make any sense. Maybe it would be slightly higher fidelity but hardly game-breaking (she actually smiled at this internal pun) enough to drag Kirito to some secret facility to help him. But Fluctlight was all about minds, and Kirito himself had an interest in artificial minds, like Yui, like the Yuna character than had been involved in the Ordinal Scale affair, an affair in which Mr K had taken an interest and been responsible for all the evidence, and now he had a possible mental affliction, one that maybe the STL could help with. AI. The game-breaker was military AI. The clues came together, as the girls became excited at a new lead.

"Yui, if you can, search the national budget for grants related to artificial intelligence." A helicopter from a dock - not a jet or a long distance type flight, nor a sensible location for an internal flight. "And cross-reference information to off-shore government assets. Don't dig too deep, we just need an idea."

One result. One cross-reference that ticked all the boxes. AI mentioned. Off-shore. Government, implicit military. A name that made Shino sure they were onto something.

Ocean. Turtle.

That rang a bell, and Shino had a hunch why. She hadn't read Alice in Wonderland for a long time, so she googled herself, on her smart phone, the word Rath, as they had a hundred times since Kirito's disappearance. But this time looking from a different angle.

The Jabberwocky, Wikipedia page.

**_"Rath: Humpty Dumpty says following the poem: "A 'rath' is a sort of green pig". Carroll's notes for the original in[Mischmasch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischmasch) state that a 'Rath' is "a species of land turtle."_ **

_Land Turtle vs Ocean Turtle, huh? Let's see what Asuna-Chan has to add to this._


	30. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies: I've just seen that my timings are off after the 3rd episode of the latest season of SAO: there should be longer between the GGO battle and the invasion of Ocean Turtle, and Ocean Turtle should be invaded in the afternoon not the evening (I guess hypothetically that could be the case here, but given when Asuna messages Shino, it seems unlikely). Apologies for this inconsistency, I hope it doesn't ruin the story

So now they knew where Kirito (almost definitely) was in very specific terms. However, sadly, when it came to geographically and thus practically, Shino had no idea. Ocean Turtle could be anywhere off the coast of Japan. Sure, likelihood dictated that it would be not that far from Tokyo, but that was far from certain and even a 100 km radius from that part of the Japanese coast was going to be nearly impossible to search without some kind of flying machine, drone or satellite access that even Yui would struggle with.

Maybe Kirito would have been able to customize a drone of some kind to let Yui take flight, but the tech was complex and expensive and none of them shared his experience in hardware or software.

Nevertheless it was a better start point than they had a few hours ago, and as Rika neared their destination in her car, Shino messaged Asuna with a bit of enthusiasm dredged up from the sheer emotional fatigue they had all started to feel when they had lost all trace of where to look next.

_**Hey beautiful. Don't know if you and Sugu have had any luck, but we have an idea. Will talk in person to make sure none of this is intercepted. Xxx. S.** _

Within an instant, a message fired back: _**We've got a plan too. See you soon. XoXoX**_

Shino's anticipation, mixed nervousness and excitement, built as they waited in Agil's café, sipping bubble tea. Nearly 20 minutes passed before the door swung open. Keiko gasped, startled, and even Shino herself was briefly worried that Rath might have followed them here, Rath or some other shady organization. Gods knew there were enough of them seemingly involved, and that was just the groups they knew about: Rath, the Japanese Government and/or their military (assuming Mr K was representing them officially and not behind their backs), The Laughing Coffins. This was all getting rather serious. As soon as a schoolboy gets whisked away, via a fake transfer to a hospital willing to forge information to keep things covert, in a coma to a helicopter journey towards the presumed secret base of a mysterious technology company, which happens to be a sea-based compound for what was very ambiguously referred to as "bottom-up cognitive algorithm testing" in the government budget, but with military overtones, then things could get very messy.

_People have tried to harm or kill us before, though. Kirito and Asuna in Aincrad, both by the game's creator and the death gang there. The abduction they mentioned to me, when Alfheim first opened. Kirito and I in the Bullet of Bullets. The memory thefts in Ordinal Scale. And we are still standing._

Shino had gripped her table knife, used to slice the red velvet cake the three of them had bough to snack on, and tautened. If this was an invader, an agent sent to follow them, she would not give up without a fight. Choosing to fight kept her strong. Kirito had taught her that.

The room let out a collective held breath, though, when Asuna, Klein and Suguha entered instead, the nervous tension bursting into hysterical giggles. After sitting everyone down and getting a second and third slice of the cake, both groups shared what they had found. First Shino explained her epiphany and how they'd found one project only that fitted the criteria that Kikuoka would likely be involved and need Kirito for, and though that was a long shot and not proof that he was there, the name suspiciously fitted the Rath trend. However, they did not know where the project itself was.

Asuna frowned. "I can't think of any easy way to find it exactly either, not without drawing attention to ourselves, but it could be a useful bit of knowledge to screen whether any future leads are valid or not." She smiled. "And I think I know another loose lead. Suguha?"

Just as she had apparently done at the docks earlier on when they tried to think through every bit of information they had from Kirito about Rath, Kirito's sister explained that not only might the STL have applications, medical ones, similar to some of the Medicuboid, but it was explicitly developed from that device. Asuna had then remembered that Kirito had told her, whilst she was searching for Konno Yuuki in real life, that the Medicuboid had been designed by an old associate of Kayaba Akihiko himself - Dr Koujiro Rinko. The doctors at Yuuki's hospital had revealed a little more, that the Medicuboid was highly complex, blocking out almost all external stimulation like a NerveGear but with further suppression of spinal reflexes and muscle tone - allowing for anaesthetisation without drugs - and a much more intricate and multifaceted connection with the brain that exceeded previous devices and allowed for realistic integration of all activities in the game into the bodies own micro-movements and neural pathways. It increased their in-game capabilities and made for a slicker, more visually acute experience for all senses (the increased vividness more indirect than the even greater realism of the STL though) but also meant that in-game movements and thought processes and experience could essentially carry across as real-life physiotherapy.

As this was exceedingly complicated, needing an intimate knowledge of VR and all the technology associated, all Medicuboids then and now required the remote assistance for maintenance and tweaking of Dr Koujiro herself, and they had predicted that they would for some time.

This meant that a device explicitly based on them would almost certainly need input in some way from the Doctor, and once they tried to use that device in a new context, as using Kirito in a comatose state would surely be, or trying to use the STL to heal his neural networks, whichever (nefarious or benevolent) Rath's principle purpose was here, that need for help would become inevitable.

"Dr, or rather, Professor Koujiro is known to be distrusting of the Japanese government though, after the way the SAO project was handled, and she works and teaches in California. Also, she was the girlfriend and victim of the Commander during SAO, forced to keep him alive, and see him in that comatose state as well."

Asuna took over here. "She's not said a lot in public about SAO, but whenever she has, she's expressed distrust of the way Japan handled the affair, guilt for her part in it, and said that her subsequent work is an effort to try and make VR do good again in the world, after the harm it has caused. If I contact her, as frankly as I can, she may help us. I am an SAO Survivor as is Kirito-Kun, and I think she'll want to help, and want to stop other parties abusing VR tech and taking advantage of Kirito's state. But it's a risk."

 

 

It was a big risk, in Shino's opinion, but she couldn't see a lot of other options. The entire group debated hotly about the ramifications. The professor could betray them to Rath or other parties, even if she wasn't already working for them. They had little measure of her character, and not much to prove to her that their story was true, or that they weren't working with another party or Rath themselves to trick her into helping.

Keiko thought the risk too great, Rika that if they were to expose themselves they may as well try to hack Rath properly, take a higher yield risk. Klein was all for it, Suguha happy to support Asuna no matter what to get her brother back. Agil was in two minds, saying they didn't need to rush a decision.

_He's probably right. But when Kirito is missing, there's no way Asuna is going to sit back for long, they are birds of a feather in that regard._

As for Shino, she stayed mostly quite, playing Devil's Advocate when she spoke. In the end she knew it would come down to Asuna's decision and hers, and once she had absorbed everything she would talk to Asuna about it later on.

Asuna finished the discussion by pointing out they had no other leads, none obvious, and that time was of the essence. Kirito was sick and in the hands of gods knew which organisation, in a world in which they did have enemies. "If Kirito had wasted time before coming to save me, I might have been violated before anyone knew where I was. If he didn't risk his life on countless occasions, I think it's fair to say every one of us would be dead or close to it. I'm not asking you all to share the risk - I'll contact Koujiro alone, with my name and his, and I want you all to stay safe as backup and keeping looking for other options incase I fail. But this isn't a discussion any more. I'm doing it."

There was no arguing with Asuna when she had set her mind so firmly on something, charisma and determination oozing from her skin, the girl who once led dozens if not more into battle. Wishing her luck, everyone left, save Agil who had a shift to finish, and started thinking about what other options they could take to help. Shino waited however, waited until Asuna was preparing to go, and took her hand as she walked out the door, holding it as they walked together.

"Asuna, come to my flat, please. We need to talk about how to do this, and we can email Koujiro together. Amongst... Other things."

The older girl nodded, the stern resolve on her face softened. "I wasn't going to leave you in the dark uninvolved, Sinonon. Kirito is ours, not mine."

A little while later, Shino was preparing a quick noodle dish in her little kitchen while Asuna and Yui tore the internet apart for their new lead's contact details. Then, her formal email located, they sat down together to draft the email over supper. It was candid. It explained that the sender was Yuuki Asuna, a name that those who knew about the SAO incident would immediately recognise, as well as bearing the Yuuki family title, a big name in the technology industry. Nonetheless she introduced her past, and Kirito's (another recognisable name) and referenced things that only SAO survivors would likely know. It mentioned, riskily, the Soul Translator by name too, and Rath, Kikuota, Ocean Turtle, every keyword they could think of, stating what had happened to Kirito, how he had vanished, what he had told them about his work in Rath, how they had tracked him and what they suspected and feared. Why losing him was so important, and pleading for her help to locate where he might have gone, any little clue as to where Rath were, what Ocean Turtle was. It was passionate and emotional, honestly so. Luckily both Asuna and Professor Koujiro used Gmail, so the message was fairly securely encrypted, even if someone tried to spy in, sent from Shino's laptop after Yui ran her most intensive malware scan. After triple checking it, Asuna clicked send.

They had no idea how long a reply might take to come, even if they got one, but Asuna was in no mood to go home alone.

"Let me give you a massage, Asuna-Chan. You must be tense." Agreeing, smiling, Asuna lay down on Shino's bed, as Shino sent Yui to see if she could gather any further info on Kikuota himself. "No, not like that, darling. How can massage you properly if you are all covered up?"

For a moment, she looked confused then she got it. And blushed. Even so, desire in her eyes alongside all the tiredness and worry, she met Shino's hungry gaze and shrugged off her top. "There's still a lot of clothing in the way..."

Soon there wasn't, Asuna undressingly with faux innocence, deliberately missing Shino's meaning until finally she was lying face down, flat and flushed on the bed. For slightly different reasons, Shino had a good amount of body oil in her top draw, alongside more blatant signs of intent, and she coated her hands, saturating them so that she could smother her lover's skin, absorbing the magnificent sight of Asuna's body as she did. 6 months ago Asuna had already been a vision of willowy beauty, tall with long legs, curves and smooth skin beneath a flawless face, kindness in her rich hazel eyes and intricately braided hair. Since then, she had remained perfect but arguably even more gorgeous, a more womanly allure. Her breasts, once a little bigger than Shino's own, had blossomed further, whether due to the last stages of puberty or further recovery after those two years stuck in a virtual world, her face matured in its beauty and a new found love of exercise and enforced physiotherapy had made her bum more toned and shapely than before. Indeed the view of her twin cheeks protruding from the bed above her endless legs and beneath the arched muscles of her back was genuinely breathtaking. Shino knew she had a pretty perfect arse herself, the bit of her body she had the most confidence in, but she could devour Asuna's. Maybe later she would.

Immediately bringing out groans of pleasured pain as she worked the warm oil into the tight muscles of Asuna's back, Shino alternated between firm presses and gently rubbing, loosening her shoulders and neck, finding knots in her back that needed breaking down to cries of exquisite tenderness. She rubbed the backs of Asuna's legs, her toned calves and hamstrings, kneaded her back, squeezing and pressing and caressing everywhere, then moved onto that perfect arse. In her closeness to her now oiled up girlfriend, her own top got covered in the liquid.

"Oops. Well, don't want to risk doing more damage. Can risk my bra either." She made that as sultry as she could, before snapping her bra off as loudly as she could, to a whine from Asuna. Then started to press her fingers and knuckles into her feet, to almost orgasmic sounds. Like a snake, she slithered up Asuna's body, letting her shining back feel Shino's now greased breasts, the nipples painfully hard. She kissed her cheek and earlobe and then French kissed her ear vigorously. Then she moved back to Asuna's rear end globes, cherishing the little sighs she received for her attention, pushing into and moving both firm muscles with a hand each, alternating between fondling, squeezing and true massage. Most of the tension was worked out now, and Shino couldn't resist to move things on a little. Parting the now slick knolls, she moved her face close to the puckered little cranny, perfect pink, sitting in the middle of that valley, and breathed lightly. "Oh yes, please touch me there!". The trace scent of the oil mingled with the musk of Asuna herself, scrupulously clean but still sweaty and unadorned. A natural pungeunt aroma. Shino buried her face between those hills and lapped, teasing the wrinkle with her hot tongue, loving it as her lover moaned out and relaxed, parting the gap for her, letting her enter a little, enjoying the slight bitterness of the taste of this most tabboo area. Adding more slick lubricant to her finger, she teased the opening,. pushing little by finger until the resistance popped and she pressed inside that tight crevice.

"Do you like it when I do this, Asuna-Chan? Do you like it when I enter your private places? Does it make you feel better?"

"Yeeees! Oh, it feels amazing, I love it Sinonon!"

"Love what?"

"Love your finger in my arse!"

By now she was moving the digit up and down her crack, and moved her other hand forwards, Asuna shoving her bottom up into the air and shifting her legs to accommodate her. She was drenched between her legs, a wet patch spreading on Shino's already oil-stained bedsheets. Giving a warning, and asking her to move her legs wider apart, she dove between them, trying to get as deep inside Asuna with her tongue and hungry mouth as she could, relishing the tangy stickiness within. Asuna was already tightening in her thighs, a sign she was nearly there. Instantly Shino found her nub, a spot she was thoroughly familiar with by now, and strummed out a rapid rhythm, causing Asuna to explode into a stream of groans, reverences and explitives.

Grinning, rolling aside, Shino wiped the syrup like strings off her face, licking her fingers clean as Asuna, now thoroughly relaxed, recovered.

"That was amazing. You are amazing. It was... Our first time without him though. He would be happy that we comforted each other."

Before she could reply, they were interrupted by a high pitched sound from the computer. Email received. It could be anyone, there was no proof that this was their reply. Regardless, they both fell into silence, bating their breath. They inched together towards the screen, moved the scroller to finish the screen-saver, and peeked.

_**From: Koujiro Rinko, PhD, Professor of Neural Interface Technology.** _

The silence, devoid of even the sound of breathing, intensified (Shino had never thought about how that could occur, it had always seemed an odd phrase but it was truth- the lack of sound was intense, oppressive even). They clicked, and read.

According to her, Rinko (she said to call her Rinko) was sympathetic to their plight. She had experience with her technology being abused before, and loved ones getting hurt when games were taken too far, and wanted to help. She had, without knowing exactly who they were until later on, given some advice on how to adapt the Medicuboid into the STL, had been excited at its possible applications, could call herself the joint inventor of the machine, but as soon as it became clear how Rath was backed, she cut herself off from the project and had focussed on teaching and new research in America. Rath had tried to get her back regularly, but had sounded much more desperate, practically begging her, in emails yesterday and today. One was from Lieutenant-Colonel Kikuoka himself - yes he was involved. She had been going to refuse again, but if Asuna could meet her in a venue close to Tokyo airport when she arrived tomorrow evening, and prove that she was who she said she was and not a trap to bring her in from Rath, then she would help Asuna find Kirito - her invite was to head to the Ocean Turtle, and she had been invited to bring one other with her, one of her student lab assistants to assist with any work.

The relaxed joy had faded from Asuna's face, now set in a fixed purpose. Undivertable. "I'm going"

"What if it's a trap?" Shino had grown concerned at the frankness of the email. Encrypted or not this was a lot of divulgence of information over such a remote form of communication. Both parties had so much to lose.

"It doesn't matter. Either way, they'll take me to Kirito. I need to get him back, like he got me back. I love you," with that she kissed Shino fiercely, "but I can't rest whilst I have a chance to get him back, and I love him too."

All the old fear she thought she had mastered alongside new tension flew up to the surface of Shino's emotions, the thought of being alone again terrifying her into anger. Anger was safer than fear, you could still feel strong if you were angry. She actually shouted.

"No! It's too dangerous!" Asuna's eyes were narrowed in confrontation now, a dangerous sparkle in them. "I can't lose both of you! I can't!"

And the hidden fire, the sacred storm inside Asuna broke free. Not just for her speed and deadliness had she once been called the Lightning Flash, and it was clear she had been bottling the toll her emotions had had on her too. "And I can't lose either of you! And I won't! I'm not giving up on him, and how can you? We are three parts of the same soul and right now we are broken."

The force in her tone, the hurt there, it was too much. It was all too much and Shino broke down into tears. "Please?! I can't be alone. I can't do it, I was alone for so long and it wasn't really living. I need both of you to be happy, but without either of you I'm not sure I can cope."

As sobs wracked Shino's body, Asuna softened, arms wrapping around her, becoming her safety blanket.

"There, there, poor Sinonon. You are so strong, you can do this. You won't lose either of us, I promise. And you won't be alone, you'll still have Suguha, and Lisbeth and Silica and Klein and Agil. You can do this, and I'm not abandoning you."

*Sniff* "I'm scared. Scared you won't come back, and scared that I'll go back to a dark place. That's not fair on you, and I'm not trying to coerce you, but it's the truth."

"I think we are all scared, Shino. I am, deeply, but I trust that we are strong enough to get through this. And you can only be brave if you are scared. You are brave, you will beat the darkness. I have faith in you."

_I am strong because I choose to fight. This is a different kind of fight, but I can do it. But it's hard._

"I'd rather go with you, than feel useless waiting here."

"There's no way we can push this further than we already are. Maybe Rinko can sneak one of us in, but we are already taking a risk. I need you to stay here, keep in touch with me and be the one ready to rescue me if something goes wrong. Can I trust you with that?"

Composure returning, she nodded. "Spend the night here with me, though, my love." She dug a smile out from somewhere, Asuna's words helping calm her fears. She felt ready for a joke, realising they'd had that entire conversation, raised voices and all, with Asuna completely naked, luminously beautiful with the screen-light glowing on her oiled skin, and Shino just in her oily, dewy panties. "If you are going to go away for a little while, I'd better give you a night of mind-blowing sex to ensure you have a good reason to come back!"

Well, half a joke.

After a brief planning session (wearing loose yukatas now) where they discussed Asuna's disguise options, how to keep in touch (Yui travelling between devices seemed the most viable way) and what their contingency plan would be (if nothing else, Asuna could send the coordinates of where the base was by Yui, confidentiality be damned - Kikuoka owed them both), they summoned Yui, thankfully absent for their brief quarrel, and she helped them hack into the University of San Francisco records to create a student, looking like Asuna's disguise, that she would pose as. After that, Yui gone "to bed", they continued from where they had left off: slipping off the loose clothing and clambering into bed together.

It felt odd, making love, or fucking, because they did both, without their player 3 there, but was still this wonderful dedication of their love to each other and to him. Alternatively sweet tenderness with filthy intensity, Shino couldn't follow how many times she heard, she made, Asuna cry out her name and Kirito's in ecstasy. Nor how many times she squealed her lovers' out in return. She worshipped Asuna's vagina with her mouth, fingers, her own netherregions, her toys, slowly and fast, feeling her elastic walls contract time after time, fingers and tongue and vibrator dancing over her clit, savouring Asuna to every sense and completely letting go, more vocal than ever when Asuna fucked her back. She revisited every orifice they had, consecrated the altar of her mattress with their perfume, their sweat and their love nectar, until all their spare energy was spent in pleasure, leaving no space for fear or pain and a huge void filled immediately by sleep.

 

 

The next few days was a torture of waiting for Shino, trying, distracted, to get by at school and work whilst glancing at her modem for updates from Asuna via Yui. The rest of what happened was fairly humdrum, except that Shino spent most of her spare time with Suguha and Midori, both distressed and anxious for different reasons  
Sugu obviously knew Kirito was missing, and what the plan was to find him, Midori said that she'd been told that Kirito wasn't able to be visited whilst under the special governmental support. Whether she knew more than she let on, about the completely experimental treatment he was undergoing, or just thought he was getting extra tests in that hospital was unclear, but she was obviously nervous. Shino tried to soothe them, nobody wanting to talk much about it, but she did update Suguha with the messages Yui passed her.

Firstly, that Asuna had met Rinko, who had been genuine, and that after some collaboration they were flying to the site.  
Then that they were boarding their aircraft to get there.  
Then that they had arrived. That was the tensest moment for Shino- would Asuna be caught? Hurt? Was Kirito even there? Yui had passed on (before Asuna could be made to be dishonest, before she could possibly sign any Secrets Act or confidentiality form) the coordinates just in case.  
The answer to those questions was: not really, no, yes.  
They didn't have a chance to catch her: once she had fooled security and gotten into the compound and met with Kikuoka, she had shed the facade herself and confronted him, demanding to see Kirito, sure that they needed him and Rinko and thus couldn't hurt her. Correctly it turned out.

 _Always the badass_.

Kirito was still comatose, but plugged into the STL which they hoped might repair his neural pathways, or networks or something like that. Anatomically they couldn't do much but in terms of global functional affects and the interaction between functional loops in the brain, it could help. As she'd expected, they weren't helping him out of gratitude or altruism though. They had a perfectly realistic simulation, this Underworld Kirito had mentioned, and were using it to develop bottom-up AI: AI that developed organically, based on cloned data from humans and allowed to extrapolate over generations in a speed up virtual world. Typically, they wanted to get it to bypass built in ethical controls that prevented the AIs using violence etc. To use them as weapons or soldiers, Shino guessed, something in the way they developed obviously prohibited certain types of behaviour. Interaction with Kirito somehow seemed to stretch their actions and thoughts beyond such rigid rules, and as the most experienced "crisis" Full Diver around, he had been the best person to bring in before his coma. Now he could compete the work in his coma, initially passively but they hoped to get him to actively do things once he could wake up and receive instructions.

_Bastards. Not only using Kirito, but to help make weapons, to exploit AI like Yui. There's no way they told him what this was all for._

Asuna had laid into them for it, seemed happier now she knew Kirito was at least safe if not in trustworthy hands.

She received a couple of updates on his progress, Asuna saying he was basically looking to topple the self-pronouced ruler of Underworld which would probably do the job Rath wanted of him, but predominantly to help two beings he had befriended and seemed to have the greatest changing influence on. Eugeo, according to the code, and, ironically, Alice. They couldn't tell much more from the outside, everything seen in much faster time than in the virtual world and blurred by very complex code that they could only see in real time from reading alterations in Kirito's Fluctlight, an art that was still very much being invented as they went along.

Then, as the weekend started, as she prepared for bed on Friday, a much more worrying message came.

"Mummy, Mama sent me. She says she wishes she could talk herself so she could hear your voice. The Ocean Turtle has been attacked. They fended off the attackers but they are still there. They are trying to steal the Fluctlight of that Alice girl, because she can ignore the rules. Mama is safe. But they did something to the generators and a surge of power hurt Papa, she says his mind might be damaged and there's nothing they can do from the outside. She's very upset, and I'm scared."

Shino's stomach froze. Worse news than she could have imagined. But she didn't panic. She breathed slowly, and she thought and controlled her emotions.

_This is bad. But we can face it. This is why I stayed here, to help if things went wrong._

She came to 3 simultaneous fundamental realisations.  
1: Kirito was in trouble from the outside, and medically worse than before, but if the plan was to heal him by doing something to his Fluctlight, and his interactions in Underworld were directly via his Fluctlight, then he could hypothetically, given that this was an entirely new field and new ground for everyone in the world, be fixed from within.  
2: the attackers of Ocean Turtle, no matter what else or how dubious Rath themselves were, could not be allowed to get their hands on that Fluctlight AI that could circumvent its natural regulations.  
3: in order to achieve 1 and 2, Rath would need to send someone inside Underworld. Asuna was present and perfect for the job, given her motivations and experience and abilities, and would be desperate to do so to save Kirito, so Asuna would be in Underworld and in danger soon.

Overall analysis: Shino had to get to Underworld. She wasn't sure when or how, but all fear left her. She had people to protect, and she chose to fight. And she had an idea of the where. How to get access could wait until morning, but Roppongi had at least two STL machines from what Kirito's snippets had implied. There was something constructive she could do at last, to keep her loved ones safe. First thing tomorrow. Better not to do it alone.

She picked up the phone and messaged Kirigaya Suguha.

_**We have to talk.** _

  
If there was going to be a War of Underworld, there was no way Sinon was going to be away from the front line. She had chosen to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I'm finally up to date! 
> 
> Future chapters will be written once the anime gets to a point where Sinon's story can progress further (as I'll loosely be following Alicisation and don't want to Spoil the show for anyone). After that, GGO Alternative crossover. Before that, maybe me focussing on other works (I have two others running and plans for at least one new one to start when possible) or possibly starting a one-shot Kirito/Asuna gender swap lemon (all based in my Alternate Timeline).
> 
> Hope you've all enjoyed it so far, I have no idea how they are gonna pace this season of SAO so no idea when I'll be writing this FanFic again but hopefully not too long! 
> 
> Hope it wasn't too TOO kinky in the sex scenes this chapter


	31. A Brave New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter as we slowly get close to Sinon being back in the anime's plot again so I can write without spoiling you all!
> 
> And to remind you that I am still writing this!
> 
> Despite being a brief interlude, I hope you enjoyed it, see you, probably, in Spring when I suspect the show will be in full flow again. There may be one more short chapter in the meantime.

That very night Shino was woken by an unexpected call. Yui-Chan via Kirito's number. 

 

"Mummy, it's me, Yui. Papa and Mama are in danger, there's no time to explain. Go outside and get into a taxi, I'm sending you the coordinates to head to." "What? What's going on? Where are we heading, Yui-Chan?" "Quick! Mama and Papa are in danger!"

 

_ Yui wouldn't talk like that unless it were serious. So that leaves two options. The first is that some new bad thing has happened on Ocean Turtle. But I can't see how I would realistically be helpful with that. So it's more likely the second option. Asuna, as predicted, entered Underworld and she and Kirito need help there. In which case Yui had the same idea as I did earlier, to get me to Roppongi and into a STL machine. But how does she plan to get me in?  _

 

Either way, she was prepared to trust the AI, this adopted child of her lovers and thus to some part hers. The coordinates were the exact ones that she'd visited with Keiko and Rika a few days ago. So she  **was** right. 

 

Shino messaged Suguha, knowing she might be asleep, to update her, only to find she was on route too, also called by Yui.

 

_ So… Kirito-Kun implied there were a couple of Soul Translators there. One each for me and Leafa I guess.  _

 

Within half an hour, they were both there, and hugged, Shino glad to see a friendly face whilst the people she loved, and Suguha loved in her way as well, were in danger. But they wasted no time, they passed on Yui's message - to ask the head of the building, coaxed out as they refused to leave without seeing him even when threatened by security, to call Kikuota-San on Ocean Turtle and to check the "FLA rate". From what she recalled, that was Fluctlight Acceleration Rate, linked to the way the STL could slow down perceived passage of time, but what relevance that had or what it meant in this context, she had no idea. Yui seemed rushed off her feet, checking in briefly, and Shino trusted her and would do as she was told to keep Kirito and Asuna safe.

 

It seemed to work, for the man who had spoken to her came back, and let them in this most secretive of buildings, everything high-tech but non-descript. Faceless. This was Rath.

 

She had given their gamer names to the head, knowing Kikuota would recognise both immediately. She hoped she had the measure of the Rath chief, but he was a complex and subtle man under his glib smile. Whatever had been discussed resulted in her being led with Suguha to the two machines she had suspected she was here for.

 

2 STL pods. 2 of them.

 

Underworld didn't know what was going to hit it. 

 

  
  



	32. Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This gets us up to date until April.
> 
> The next bits will be compressed more once the new episodes of the anime are out, with more than one episode per chapter, but I wanted to keep things up to date
> 
> Things will get really good soon, based on the books

Shino descended, like a goddess from the heavens. No, not like. Sinon descended, a goddess from the heavens. Solus descended.

 

She and Suguha had been quickly briefed by the station manager, and remotely by Mr K, and in secret by the now returned Yui who explained she wouldn't be able to touch them in Underworld. That was where they were headed, insurgents but not the only ones. Underworld was an experiment to foster AI life, that much she had already been informed by Asuna before her lover went off the grid. But it had a rich mythology and the invading troops who had attacked Ocean Turtle were taking advantage of this, apparently leading a faction called The Dark Territory in Underworld using a superaccount to try and capture one Alice. Alice the AI who had achieved Rath's aim of circumventing the mysterious issues that forces Underworld's denizens to follow its laws absolutely. The interlopers were doing this using a god account that was being blindly obeyed by the Dark Territory. Asuna had been sent in with another god (well, goddess) account, and with the Human Army forces had defeated a large segment of their foes, but now she and Kirito were in danger. The invaders had changed the FLA, the speed at which the Underworld flowed compared to reality, to that of reality, which apparently meant they could send in players from normal servers as reinforcements. Yui had caught this, and was collecting their allies and friends to enter themselves, but she said the enemy had already gathered tens of thousands of troops to attack Asuna, and more importantly the still comatose Kirito, who was apparently damaged in game as well. 

 

That aspect had been explained several times but was very complex - something about a surge of energy hitting his soul at the wrong moment and fixing it into a state of grief and self-hatred. She'd suspected something of the sort from what Yui had told her at the time it had happened, and surmised a lot of what had happened since from what she had been told. The key points were: Asuna protecting Kirito and Alice, and these innocent beings in Underworld. Kirito's soul damaged and needed fixing from the inside. Both also in danger in the real world. Enemies getting reinforcements. And she and Suguha were her friends' reinforcements.

 

The upside of being here with a Soul Translator as opposed to entering via the outside servers like the enemy would have to was huge though. 

 

Shino wasn't entering as Solus, nor Suguha as Leafa. She had access to her own goddess account. 

 

She was Solus.

 

She'd been quickly told about the mythology of Underworld, and the mechanics of her account, and assumed Sugu had received the equivalent advice for her own powers. She knew what she was doing. The Sun God, creator of the power that keeps life alive. Warmth, light, energy, to Asuna's Stacia who shaped the world.  _ Energy to Matter _ , she mused. Part of a triple goddess, like Hecate was. Or the Triforce goddesses in Zelda, one of her favourite retro games from pre-VR.  _ I guess that makes me the blue one: Nayru. The laws of physics.  _

 

Anyway, Solus' power, control over energy, was a very practical one, and the musing over finer details and picking over exactly what was happening in Underworld could wait. She was going to do her job.

 

Solus descended, guided by the techs at Rath's Roppongi labs to fix on the spots they could always track: their other entrants, in STL's on Ocean Turtle itself. Asuna and Kirito. There she could best protect them and find out where Alice and the enemy were.

 

She arrived from the sky, golden bow in hand, like the tool of an ancient Greek goddess.  _ That would be Artemis, but she was a Moon goddess, like Hecate. Maybe crossed with Apollo, he used arrows too. _ This was a divine weapon after all. 

 

_ There she is _ . 

 

It had only been a few days but it felt like forever since she'd seen that figure, her face still hard to make out due to the distance Solus was floating down from, but she knew its beauty intimately.  _ Asuna _ .

 

Kirito would be here too. Maybe the two lovers together could jolt his memory, his mind, and bring him back to them?

 

But first…

 

As she'd been warned might occur, lines of red light, thousands of them, appeared in front of her beloved and the army she was leading at pace. The enemy's reinforcements, American gamers conned into thinking this was a normal beta test for a new game, here by brain and machine only, not mind and soul like she was. Like they, the people she was here to protect, were. They didn't know that those they hurt here would really hurt, the original citizens of this place would really die. But they, the enemy, weren't so vulnerable, they wouldn't die. So Solus could slay them first. 

 

The soldiers themselves apparated from those bubbling flickers of light, and she felt for her lover, for Asuna's allies - how bleak they must feel. How lost all must seem. 

 

Now she was in range. And with a powering up of energy, aiming with her mind as she had been told (it came easily to her), she twanged her golden bow.

 

And with fire and the power of a sun, they all died.

 

If was an impressive site, columns of hot air and huge flames. Every single foe perished, with flawless accuracy and perfect control, all with one shot.  _ Shame this thing is limited in how many times I can use it like that. But I'll fire normal arrows unless I must - Kikuota said it would take some time to recharge after a full use.  _

 

That didn't matter for now. Floating from heaven, she landed next to one of the two most important people in her world, as gorgeous as ever, her own true face and body beneath an elegant cream dress, power radiating from her, rapier, as ever, in hand. Stacia.  _ Asuna _ .

 

Her honey eyes were wide, truly shocked to see her. "Si...Sinonon!" The touch Shino had ached for, from the soul directly, here, she guessed, as pure an interaction as could exist between two beings, it reached out in Asuna's hands.

 

And with one hug, everything froze. Everything was alright.

 

_ Asuna. Kirito. Everything is going to be alright. I'm here. I'm here for you. To save your souls, like you both saved mine.  _

 

Woe betide any Dark God who thought he could hurt them. 

 

_ You know what kills Darkness? The Sun. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I've basically decided:
> 
> The end of the War of Underworld bit here is gonna diverge from the original plot quite a lot, I think for the better, but if you are fans of Kirito always saving the day right at the end, I apologize. Sinon, Alice and Asuna will have a much more active say in things in my version. I already have the details planned out but I'm still not planning to spoil the anime for anime watchers anyway - so I'll probably prep the first couple of chapters and then upload them once the final arc starts on TV, because although I'm changing things I'll still.end up spoiling some stuff.
> 
> Please try to stay patient! I may write an interim chapter of some sort whilst we wait, but I do also have some other Fics on the go


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